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The 

« 

Czechs  of  Cleveland 

By 

F.T.F.ANOR  E.  LEDBETTER 

Librarian  Broadway  Branch 
Cleveland  Public  Library 


Published  by 

Americanization  Committee 

MayoPs  Advisory  War  Committee 
Cleveland,  1919 


The 

Czechs  of  Cleveland 


By 

ELEANOR  E.  LEDBETTER 


Librarian  Broadway  Branch 
Cleveland  Public  Library 


Published  by 

Americanization  Committee 

Mayor’s  Advisory  War  Committee 
Cleveland,  1919 


Copyright  1920 
E.  E.  LEDBETTER 
Cleveland,  Ohio 


TO 

ALL  MY  CZECH  FRIENDS 
ESPECIALLY 
THOSE  WHO  USE 
THE  BROADWAY  LIBRARY 


—  The  Author 


THE  CZECHS 


O  F 


CLEVEL  AN 


F'oreword 

This  pamphlet  is  intended  as  a  method  of  Americanizing  the  American. 
Those  who  have  had  long  experience  in  the  work  of  Americanization 
testify  that  if  Americans  in  general  would  more  readily  recognize  the  value 
of  what  the  immigrant  brings  to  us  it  would  be  much  easier  to  teach  that 
immigrant  the  culture  of  America.  Sympathy  begets  sympathy  and  a  gen¬ 
erous  appreciation  of  the  value  of  the  newcomer  is  the  best  way  to  make  him 
feel  at  home.  And  so  in  order  to  give  to  the  native  born  citizens  of  Cleveland 
a  knowledge  of  their  foreign  born  neighbors  a  series  of  booklets  has  been 
prepared  and  published.  This  is  the  sixth  of  the  series. 

The  Czechs  (more  commonly  known  as  Bohemians)  constitute  one  of 
the  largest  and  oldest  groups  of  immigrants  which  has  made  Cleveland  its 
home.  More  than  a  generation  ago  the  Czechs  started  to  settle  in  Cleveland 
and  in  the  course  of  time  have  become  a  permanent  and  more  stable  element  in 
the  life  of  the  city.  The  following  pages  describe  how  the  Czechs  first  settled  in 
the  Croton  Street  section  of  the  East  Side  when  that  marked  the  extreme  limit 
of  urban  life  and  with  the  growth  of  the  city  moved  steadily  east  and  south. 
Bohemians  have  been  leaders  in  the  development  of  the  great  city  in  which 
they  they  found  homes.  Men  and  women  of  Bohemian  birth  have  found 
their  way  into  places  of  distinction  in  all  of  the  varied  activities  of  the  city. 

Only  within  the  past  three  years,  however,  have  Americans  been  brought 
to  the  realization  of  the  splendid  background  of  the  Bohemian  immigrant. 
The  land  of  the  Czechs,  beautiful  and  productive  beyond  measure,  has  like 
Ireland  been  a  place  where  liberty  became  the  passionate  quest  of  a  people. 
Before  the  American  Revolution  the  Czechs  had  fought  without  success  for 
the  right  to  govern  themselves.  That  fight  bore  no  fruit  at  home  until  that 
splendid  event  of  the  recent  war,  the  signing  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Declara¬ 
tion  of  Independence  in  our  own  Independence  Hall  in  Philadelphia.  And  so 
the  Czechs  of  Cleveland  even  before  they  left  their  native  land  were  united 
with  America  in  that  aspiration  for  the  right  of  self-expression  which  after 
all  is  the  best  and  most  precious  American  heritage.  As  Americans,  the  Czechs 
have  been  worthy  of  all  the  opportunities  which  they  found  in  their  adopted 
home.  Their  story  should  make  every  American  a  better  and  more  generous 
citizen. 

RAYMOND  MOLEY, 

Chairman  of  the  Cleveland  Americanization  Committee. 


.5 


Bohemian  National  Hymn 

Where  is  my  home? 

Where  is  my  home? 

In  the  meadows  waters  gleaming 
On  the  hillside  pine  woods  dreaming 
Orchards  shine  with  blossoms  bright, 

Earthly  paradise  to  sight. 

That’s  the  small  but  lovely  country 
Fair  Bohemia  is  my  home, 

Fair  Bohemia  is  my  home! 

Where  is  my  home  ? 

Where  is  my  home  ? 

If  you  know  heaven  giving, 

Where  the  gentlest  souls  are  living 
Loving  hearts  with  gifted  mind. 

And  a  strength  that  rocks  can  grind. 

That’s  the  glory  crowned  nation. 

Where  the  Czechs  are  is  my  home. 

Where  the  Czechs  are  is  my  home ! 

— Josef  Kajetan  Tyl. 


6 


The  Czechs  of  Cleveland 


CLEVELAND  is  one  of  the  largest  Czech  cities  in  the  world.  The 
national  capital,  Prague,  of  course  comes  first  in  numbers  as  in  im¬ 
portance,  the  Austrian  capital  Vienna  is  second,  the  American  Chicago 
is  third,  and  Cleveland  is  fourth.  For  some  years  the  relative  positions  of 
Cleveland  and  New  York  were  uncertain,  but  since  1910  Cleveland  has  had 
unquestionably  the  larger  number.  Its  important  position  in  this  respect 
was  humorously  indicated  by  a  squib  in  the  “Camp  Sherman  Gazette”  last 
year,  which  stated,  “There  is  no  truth  in  the  rtunor  that  the  capital  of  the 
Czechoslovak  Republic  will  be  removed  from  Prague  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Broadway  and  E.  55th  streets,  Cleveland”. 

The  Czechs  have  always  been  known  in  this  country  by  the  English 
designation  Bohemian,  and  it  is  only  with  the  rise  of  their  own  state  that  the 
native  name  has  become  generally  known  in  the  English  speaking  world. 
Unfortunately  this  has  to  be  transliterated,  as  the  Bohemian  language  con¬ 
tains  several  characters  not  existing  in  English,  among  them  the  letter  c. 
This  is  pronounced  like  the  English  ck  and  is  now  being  generally  written  cz. 
which  unfortunately  offers  no  suggestion  as  to  pronunciation  to  the  English 
reader.  The  native  name  of  Bohemia  is  Cechy,  the  people  are  Cechs,  and  the 
descriptive  adjective  is  Cesky, — all  pronounced  as  if  beginning  with  ch. 

The  racial  term  Czech  includes  not  only  the  inhabitants  of  Bohemia,  but 
also  those  of  the  sister  states  Moravia  and  Silesia,  which  now  form  part  of 
the  Czechoslovak  Republic.  Cleveland  Czechs  have  come  from  all  three  of 
these  states. 

There  have  been  some  Czechs  in  America  from  the  very  earliest  times. 
The  presidency  of  Harvard  College  was  offered  by  Governor  Winthrop  to  the 
great  Czech  educator,  Jan  Amos  Komensky,  better  known  by  the  Latinized 
name  Comenius;  but  Cotton  Mather  tells  us  that  “the  solicitations  of  the 
Swedish  ambassador  diverting  him  another  way,  that  incomparable  Moravian 
became  not  an  American.” 

In  the  14th  and  15th  centuries,  Bohemia  was  in  point  of  culture  one  of 
the  most  advanced  nations  in  Europe.  Her  university  of  Prague  was  thronged 
by  students  from  all  over  Europe,  its  professors  were  known  to  the  world. 
But  even  then  the  struggle  against  Teutonic  domination  was  an  intense  one, 
and  by  the  end  of  the  Thirty  Years’  War,  culture  had  succumbed  to  force, 
and  the  Bohemian  people  were  crushed  under  the  heel  of  the  Hapsburg 
dynasty.  The  national  leaders  were  all  either  executed  or  exiled,  their  rich 
and  abundant  literature  was  utterly  destroyed,  and  the  remnant  of  the  people 
who  were  left  for  long  years  had  not  force  enough  to  offer  effective  resistance 
to  encroachment  and  suppression.  The  Bohemian  soul,  however,  was  never 
touched,  and  by  the  beginning  of  the  19th  century  sufficient  force  had  accu¬ 
mulated  to  wring  many  concessions  from  the  Austrian  government,  among 
them  the  acknowledgement  of  the  Bohemian  language  and  permission  for 
the  establishment  of  schools  and  the  extension  of  educational  opportimity. 
As  a  result  of  this  fight  for  education,  and  of  the  opportunities  thus  wrested 


7 


THE  CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


from  a  hostile  government,  the  Bohemians  have  been  for  years  one  of  the 
two  or  three  best  educated  races  in  Europe ;  and  among  those  coming  to 
America  the  percentage  of  illiteracy  is  only  one  and  a  half, — less  than  that 
among  the  native  bom  of  any  state  in  the  Union,  even  those  with  compulsory 
education  laws. 

First  Immigration. 

After  the  failure  of  the  Revolutionary  movement  of  1848,  some  Czech 
leaders  were  compelled  to  flee  the  country,  and  others,  despairing  of  the 
future  under  the  House  of  Hapsburg,  were  disposed  to  give  up  the  seemingly 
hopeless  struggle.  These  were  the  pioneers  of  the  Czech  emigration  to 
America.  From  1850  to  1870,  most  of  them  came  with  the  idea  of  taking  up 
land  and  developing  homesteads  in  Nebraska,  Iowa,  and  Wisconsin.  The 
journey  in  those  days  was  a  long  and  tiresome  one,  and  Cleveland  was  a  con¬ 
venient  resting  place  on  the  way.  Some  who  stopped  only  to  rest,  found  it 
good  to  stay;  in  1850  there  were  three  families  here,  in  1860  there  were  fifteen, 
and  in  1869  the  number  had  grown  to  696  families,  including  3252  persons. 
Thus  the  Czech  immigration  was  from  the  first  an  immigration  by  families. 

Its  industrial  value  may  be  judged  by  a  selection  from  some  statistics 
regarding  the  3252  Czechs  here  in  1869.  This  number  included  1949  men  and 
their  occupations  were  as  follows:  masons,  76;  carpenters,  72;  tailors,  56; 
shoemakers,  44;  coopers,  39;  locksmiths,  25;  blacksmiths,  19;  merchants,  15; 
professional  musicians,  13,  besides  many  others  who  had  music  as  a  side-line; 
harness  makers,  9;  weavers,  9;  stonecutters,  8;  wheelrights,  7;  tanners,  6; 
tinsmiths,  6 ;  bakers,  5 ;  painters,  5 ;  booksellers,  2 ;  printers,  1 ;  clockmaker,  1 ; 
while  90  men  and  50  women  were  employed  on  nearby  farms. 

Location  in  Cleveland. 

It  is  hard  now  to  imagine  what  Cleveland  was  like  in  the  60’ s  and  early 
70’s,  when  everything  east  of  East  30th  street  was  farm  land.  A  history  of 
the  location  and  growth  of  the  Czech  settlements  in  Cleveland  is  actually  a 
history  of  the  growth  of  the  city.  In  the  first  years  of  the  Czechs  in  Cleve¬ 
land,  they  lived  in  the  old  district  of  Hill,  Cross,  and  Commercial  streets,  but 
as  soon  as  they  had  become  assured  of  the  means  of  subsistence,  they  began 
to  reach  toward  their  natural  rural  environment.  The  Czechs  love  the 
country.  It  is  a  saying  among  them  here  that  when  out  early  in  the  morning 
for  a  walk,  for  mushrooms,  for  a  swim  in  the  lake,  or  for  fishing,  you  can 
speak  in  Bohemian  to  whomever  you  meet  and  he  will  answer. 

It  follows  that  the  Czechs  never  live  in  congested  districts  if  they  can 
help  it.  On  the  contrary  they  are  always  to  be  found  on  the  edge  of  the  city, 
where  town  and  country  meet;  when  the  city  follows,  they  move  on.  The 
older  Czech  still  loves  his  own  fenced-in  yard,  where  he  can  have  a  vegetable 
garden,  some  bright  colored  flowers,  and  a  few  ducks  or  geese.  In  settle¬ 
ments  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  flocks  of  geese  still  roam  vacant  allotments 
and  hiss  viciously  at  the  timid  American. 

As  early  as  1853,  J.  Capek  and  J.  Doubrava  bought  farms  and  became  the 
pioneer  Bohemian  farmers  of  the  county.  Their  fellow  countrymen  built 
up  two  sections  on  what  was  then  the  outskirts  of  the  city.  The  first  was 
“Brooklyn,”  a  term  at  that  time  applied  quite  loosely  to  the  west  bank  of  the 
river  south  of  Ohio  City.  Land  there  was  cheaper  than  in  Cleveland,  and 


8 


THE  CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


from  the  very  beginning  there  were  some  Czech  families  there.  One  of  the 
pioneer  women  of  that  district  is  reported  as  saying  that  at  first  the  Ameri¬ 
cans  looked  at  them  as  if  they  were  some  strange  kind  of  animal.  They 
could  not  understand  why  this  was  so,  but  later  learned  that  it  was  because 
of  their  strange  dress,  particularly  the  shawls  on  their  heads.  When  they 
learned  the  reason,  they  began  to  dress  like  Americans. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  river,  many  early  Czech  immigrants  were  em¬ 
ployed  as  laborers  on  farms,  and  immediately  began  to  buy  from  their  em¬ 
ployers  plots  for  their  own  homes.  Harvey  Rice  employed  many  on  his  farm 
in  the  neighborhood  of  what  became  Croton  Street,  and  he  sold  them  land 
on  very  easy  terms,  in  some  cases  allowing  them  to  work  out  the  price.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  Croton  street  settlement,  which  was  the  Czech  center 
of  Cleveland  from  1870  until  the  development  of  the  Broadway  district. 
Life  here,  we  are  told,  was  always  gayer  and  brighter  than  in  Brooklyn.  The 
general  merchandise  store,  steamship  agency  and  public  utility  office,  of 
Martin  Krejci,  at  Croton  and  East  37th  streets,  was  famous  for  the  variety 
and  multiplicity  of  its  concents.  A  long  flight  of  stairs  led  down  the  hill  in 
front  of  this  store,  and  many  a  new  immigrant  spent  his  first  night  in  Cleve¬ 
land  sitting  on  those  steps. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  70’s  the  Standard  Oil  Company  began  to  em¬ 
ploy  many  Czechs.  In  those  days  barrels  were  all  made  by  hand  and  the 
natural  skill  of  the  Czechs  as  hand  workers  found  here  a  convenient  and 
profitable  field  of  employment.  Almost  every  Czech  man  in  the  city  at  that 
period  spent  some  time  “making  barrels  for  John  D.  Rockefeller.” 

Convenience  of  access  to  this  factory  furnished  the  first  motive  for 
removal  from  Croton  street  across  Kingsbury  Run.  In  1878 
the  farms  along  the  south  side  of  the  Run  were  parceled  into  lots,  and  the 
district  in  the  neighborhood  of  Trumbull  and  East  37th  streets  became  a 
residence  district  known  as  “na  vrsku”  (on  the  hill).  Broadway,  already 
in  existence  as  a  county  road,  formed  the  axis  of  the  new  settlement,  and  the 
development  of  the  whole  district  from  East  37th  street  to  Union  avenue  took 
place  very  quickly  and  the  24th  ward  (now  the  13th)  a  chronicler  informs  us, 
became  “like  a  city  of  Bohemia.”  Meadow  and  woods  gave  place  to 
streets,  some  of  which  still  retain  typical  Czech  names  like  Svoboda  and 
Praha.  These  streets  were  built  up  with  small,  neat  cottages,  each  with 
its  own  yard  and  garden,  very  comfortable  and  homey  according  to  the 
standards  of  the  time.  For  almost  40  years  this  district  has  been  the 
Czech  center  of  Cleveland.  Stores,  banks,  national  hall,  and  churches 
have  helped  to  concentrate  interest  in  this  neighborhood,  centering  at 
Broadway  and  East  55th  streets. 

The  city,  crowding  on  Croton  street,  made  that  district  undesirable  to 
the  Czechs  who  were  left  there,  and  many  moved  out  and  built  up  a  new 
settlement  on  a  new  edge  of  the  city,  which  they  called  the  “east  side.”  This 
is  in  the  neighborhood  of  Quincy  avenue  and  East  82nd  street.  The  west 
side  Czechs  also  moved  from  “Brooklyn”  to  “Cuba,”  west  of  the  creek  at 
West  41st  street,  where  their  principal  residence  district  is  now  on  West  41st 
and  neighboring  streets,  between  Clark  avenue  and  Dennison  avenue. 

Great  changes  have  taken  place  in  all  these  districts  in  the  last  ten 
years.  Business  follows  the  Czech  in  Cleveland,  and  each  of  these  centers  is 
feeling  its  pressure.  This  is  greatest  in  the  Broadway  district,  which  is  now 
a  wedge  between  two  great  arteries  of  the  steel  industry.  Heavy  smoke  and 


9 


The  First  Czech  Church. 


THE  CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


noxious  fiimes  are  fast  killing  the  trees  and  will  soon  make  gardens  impossible. 
The  houses  that  were  neat  and  bright  have  become  dingy  and  ugly,  the  gul¬ 
lies  offer  no  more  mushrooms,  the  nature  lover  has  nothing  left  to  enjoy,  and 
another  removal  is  in  full  tide.  Similar  conditions  are  approaching  also  on 
Quincy  Avenue. 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  Czechs  in  America  always  to  build  for  them¬ 
selves.  They  have  never  followed  in  an  old  neighborhood,  but  have  always 
built  anew,  and  they  are  doing  it  now.  The  whole  south-eastern  part  of  the 
city  is  being  built  up  by  them.  The  additions  known  locally  as  Corlett, 
Newburgh  City  and  Mt.  Pleasant  are  very  largely  the  homes  of  Czechs,  as 
is  also  a  considerable  district  out  Buckeye  road,  and  the  Washington  Park 
district,  which  is  not  yet  in  the  city.  The  county  highways  to  Bedford, 
to  Brecksville,  to  Warrensville  and  to  Chagrin  Falls  are  lined  with  the 
homes  of  Czechs  whose  business  interests  are  still  in  the  city.  These  new 
houses  are  the  equal  of  those  in  any  middle  class  section  of  the  city,  and 
it  is  the  testimony  of  salesmen  that  the  Czech  never  scrimps  in  the  equip¬ 
ment  of  his  home.  On  the  contrary,  he  usually  takes  his  wife  with  him  to 
choose  fittings  and  furnishings,  and  makes  the  first  consideration,  not  the 
price,  but  that  “the  missus”  shall  be  suited. 

At  the  first  the  building  of  a  home  must  have  been  very  difficult  for  these 
immigrants,  who  often  worked  for  as  little  as  seventy-five  cents  a  day.  But 
they  were  fortunate  in  having  so  many  skilled  trades  represented  among 
their  numbers.  The  mason  helped  the  carpenter,  and  the  carpenter  helped 
the  mason  in  exchange  and  cooperation  took  place  among  them  as  among 
the  earlier  American  pioneers.  The  ownership  of  a  home  was  one  of  the 
things  the  Czech  had  come  to  America  for,  and  a  home  he  would  have. 

Savings  and  Loan  Associations. 

Since  1896  the  native  thrift  and  foresight  have  found  a  helpful  vehicle 
in  savings  and  loan  associations,  which  are  incorporated  under  the  laws  of 
the  state  of  Ohio.  The  very  names  of  these  organizations  are  suggestive: 
“Vcela,”  (the  bee);  “Mravenec,”  (the  ant);  “Oul”  (the  hive). 

Vcela,  the  oldest  of  these,  was  incorporated  in  March,  1896,  and  in 
twenty  years  had  loaned  over  $10,000,000  on  Cleveland  real  estate.  Its 
present  capital  is  $2,000,000,  and  it  has  $1,000,000  outstanding  in  loans. 
Its  office  is  at  5733  Broadway,  and  it  is  beginning  the  erection  of  a  fine  office 
building  at  the  comer  of  Broadway  and  Portage  avenues. 

Mravenec  was  started  a  year  later  on  the  west  side,  and  in  1918  changed 
its  significant  Czech  name  to  the  “Federal  Savings  and  Loan  association.” 
Its  office  is  in  the  Bohemian  Sokol  Hall  at  4310  Clark  avenue,  and  its  present 
capital  is  about  $1,150,000. 

The  Cech  Savings  and  Loan  association  is  located  at  3132  West  41st 
street.  It  was  organized  in  1907,  and  has  capital  to  the  extent  of  $700,000. 

The  East  End  Building  and  Loan  association,  organized  in  1911,  with 
capital  of  half  a  million  dollars,  is  at  8506  Quincy  avenue. 

The  Atlas,  at  5454  Broadway,  organized  in  1915  has  outstripped  most 
of  the  older  ones  and  now  has  $1,750,000  as  capital. 

Other  younger  organizations  are:  The  Progress  Building,  Savings  and 
Loan  Company,  4963  Broadway;  “Oul”  Building  and  Loan  Association,  5638 
Broadway;  Capital  Savings  Building  &  Loan  Association,  5209  Fleet  avenue, 
with  a  branch  on  Buckeye  road;  Hospodar  Savings  and  Loan  Association, 


11 


THE 


CZECHS  OF 


CLEVELAND 


Typical  Business  Building. 


12608  Miles  avenue;  Quincy  Savings  and  Loan  Association,  Quincy  avenue 
at  East  89th  Street. 

All  these  encourage  thrift  and  teaeh  the  value  of  small  savings  by  the 
same  methods  which  the  government  adopted  for  the  sale  of  thrift  stamps. 
Twice  a  year  Vcela  places  on  the  market  a  block  of  shares.  The  subscriber 
pays  fifty  cents  a  week  per  share,  and  at  the  end  of  six  years  is  owner  of  a 
$200  dollar  share,  which  he  may  either  draw  or  leave  on  deposit  at  five  per 
cent  interest. 

The  builder  of  a  new  home  can  get  a  construction  loan  up  to  three- 
fourths  of  the  value  of  the  property  under  way,  and  these  loans  are  paid  off 
by  monthly  payments  which  take  eare  of  the  interest  and  eonstantly  reduce 
the  principal.  Thus  the  workingman  is  assisted  to  finance  the  building  of 
his  home,  and  it  would  require  an  extraordinary  run  of  bad  luck  to  keep  a 
Czeeh  from  completing  his  payments. 

The  savings  and  loan  associations  have  by  no  means  a  monopoly  of  Czech 
savings  and  investments.  The  Broadway  Savings  and  Trust  Company,  one 
of  the  strongest  banks  in  the  city,  is  built  largely  upon  the  patronage  of  the 
Czeehs.  The  Columbia  Savings  and  Loan  Company,  also  at  Broadway  and 
East  55th  street,  with  a  branch  at  4828  Fleet  avenue,  also  deals  ehiefiy  with 
Bohemians.  On  the  west  side  the  Clark  avenue  Savings  Bank  may  be  con¬ 
sidered  a  Bohemian  bank,  while  the  Society  for  Savings  and  other  down  town 
banks  carry  many  Czech  savings  accounts.  The  day  after  payday  in  a  Czech 
neighborhood  sees  a  constant  procession  of  depositors  with  passbooks  and 
hard  times  seldom  find  the  Czeeh  without  an  account  to  draw  on. 

Newspapers. 

Among  the  oeeupations  of  the  Czechs  listed  in  Cleveland  in  1869,  there 
was  one  printer.  We  are  not  informed  whether  he  had  opportunity  to  work 
at  his  trade  at  that  time,  but  he  undoubtedly  did  in  1871,  when  the  newspaper 
“Pokrok”  (Progress)  was  brought  here  from  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa,  and  es- 

12 


THE  CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


tablished  at  104  Croton  street.  Its  successive  editors  in  Cleveland  were  men 
of  the  widest  reputation,  F.  J.  Zdrubek,  J.  V.  Capek,  and  Vaclav  Snajdr. 
In  1878  Mr.  Snajdr  merged  “Pokrok”  and  “Dennice  Noveveku”  (Star  of  the 
New  Era)  under  the  name  of  the  latter,  and  continued  to  edit  it  until  1915. 
In  1911  “Svet”  (The  World)  was  started  as  a  daily  paper  under  the  sam.e 
management  in  an  excellent  new  building  at  4514  Broadway.  “Dennice 
Noveveku”  was  continued  as  a  weekly  until  1915,  when  it  was  entirely  ab¬ 
sorbed  in  “Svet.”  This  chain  of  newspapers  has  always  represented  the 
free-thinking  element  among  the  Czechs. 

Since  the  founding  of  the  first  paper  “Pokrok,”  forty  other  periodical 
publications  in  the  Bohemian  language  have  seen  the  light  in  Cleveland. 
Some  of  these  have  been  the  organs  of  various  societies  or  institutions,  some 
have  been  parish  papers,  and  some  excellent  newspapers  of  general  appeal. 
Their  careers  have  varied  in  length  from  a  few  issues  to  nearly  twenty  years. 
The  first  attempt  at  a  daily  paper  was  made  in  1888  by  J.  V.  Lunak,  with 
“Ceske  Noviny”  (Czech  News),  but  the  time  was  not  yet  ripe  for  a  daily, 
and  Mr.  Lunak  suffered  considerable  loss  in  his  venture.  Later  “Volnost” 
(Freedom),  which  had  been  founded  in  1880  by  Edward  Veverka  and  Charles 
and  Edward  Vopalecky,  developed  from  a  tri-weekly  into  a  daily.  This 
paper  was  published  without  a  break  from  1880  to  1908. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  three  Bohemian  newspapers  of  importance 
published  in  this  city,  besides  several  smaller  publications  of  limited  interest. 
There  are  two  dailies,  “Svet,”  already  mentioned,  and  the  “American”, 
which  is  published  at  5377-79  Broadway  by  F.  J.  Svoboda,  who  founded  it 
in  1899.  Both  are  good  papers,  well  edited  and  illustrated,  and  are  widely 
read,  the  “American”  being  favored  by  the  adherents  of  the  Catholic  faith. 

“Americke  Delnicke  Listy”  (American  Workman’s  News),  published  at 
4032  Broadway,  was  founded  in  1909,  and  is  the  organ  of  the  Bohemian 
branch  of  the  Socialist  party  in  America.  It  was  in  a  considerable  degree 
due  to  the  influence  of  the  editor,  Joseph  Martinek,  that  this  branch  of  the 
party  rejected  the  St.  Louis  platform.  Mr.  Martinek,  who  in  1917  spent 
some  months  in  Russia  as  a  representative  of  the  Bohemian  National  Alliance, 
came  back  decidedly  of  the  opinion  that  the  Bolsheviki  are  not  true  socialists, 
and  that  the  Socialist  party  in  America  should  not  identify  its  cause  with 
theirs. 

A  distinctive  custom  of  the  Czech  people  in  America  is  that  of  expressing 
congratulations  or  condolences  through  the  medium  of  paid  advertisements 
in  the  newspapers.  A  very  popular  couple  will  be  congratulated  on  their 
marriage  perhaps  to  the  extent,  of  a  page  of  congratulatory  notices.  The 
usual  form  is  two  columns  wide  and  about  four  inches  deep,  enclosed  in  a 
“box”,  but  special  fervor  or  social  standing  may  be  expressed  by  increasing 
the  size  of  type  and  box,  and  including  a  verse  of  poetry. 

Other  advertisements  are  those  of  the  entertainments  of  societies  and 
lodges..  During  the  summer  picnics  to  country  farms  and  groves  are  the 
principal  thing,  but  from  October  to  June  musical  and  dramatic  entertain¬ 
ments  hold  the  field.  A  single  issue  of  a  paper  has  contained  announcements 
of  fifteen  dififerent  dramatic  performances  to  be  staged  within  a  space  of  two 
weeks  in  the  various  Czech  centers  of  the  city. 

The  general  character  of  the  Bohemian  newspapers  of  Cleveland  is 
excellent.  They  co-operate  in  all  public  movements  and  their  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  freedom  is  a  passionate  one.  During  the  war,  they  gave  whole 


13 


THE  CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


pages  of  advertising  free  to  the  government, — as  the  English  papers  did  not 
— and  their  support  of  every  good  cause  is  always  wholehearted.  They 
specialize,  of  course,  in  news  from  the  home  land,  and  through  underground 
channels  were  often  able  to  reveal  Austrian  conditions  which  were  never 
officially  acknowledged.  In  the  establishment  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Re¬ 
public,  their  influence  has  been  incalculable. 

Important  as  is  the  present  position  of  these  papers,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  their  future  as  Bohemian  publications  is  distinctly  limited.  They 
are  read  by  the  old  people  and  the  newcomers.  Of  the  young  people  who 
have  grown  up  in  this  country,  there  are  comparatively  few  who  read  Bo¬ 
hemian  at  all,  and,  without  immigration,  the  clientele  of  these  papers  must 
necessarily  decrease.  Even  among  the  older  people,  there  are  few  who  do 
not  have  a  workable  knowledge  of  English,  but  they  cling  to  the  news  in 
Czech,  because  ^thus  only  are  they  sure  of  complete  and  perfect  understand¬ 
ing.  They  can  get  the  gist  of  a  news  item  in  English,  but  to  read  it  in  their 
own  tongue,  gives  them  assurance  as  to  details  and  significance. 

First  Organization. 

The  first  organization  of  Czechs  in  Cleveland  was  formed  in  May,  1862, 
as  a  branch  of  “Slovanska  Lipa”  (the  Slavonic  lime-tree).  The  lime-tree  is 
the  national  tree  of  Bohemia,  and  this  name  was  in  Austria  a  subtle 
designation  of  race.  On  November  16,  1863,  this  little  group  of  poor 
immigrants  demonstrated  their  devotion  to  dramatic  art  by  a  performance 
which  they  staged  in  the  fire-engine  house  on  East  22nd  street.  This  first 
performance  was  followed  by  others,  and  funds  were  acciunulated  for  a 
community  hall  which  in  1871  was  built  at  the  comer  of  Croton  avenue  and 
East  40th  street,  and  named  “Slovanska  Lipa.”  It  is  still  in  use  for  its 
original  purpose,  although  it  has  passed  into  private  ownership,  and  it  is  not 
now  so  popular  as  the  newer  and  larger  halls,  which  are  more  centrally  located. 

Dramatic  Organizations. 

Specialization  developed  early  in  “Slovanska  Lipa,”  and  “Perun”  was 
organized  as  its  dramatic  branch  in  1866.  Later  this  society  broke  awa^^ 
from  the  parent  organization  and  built  “Perun  Hall,”  also  on  Croton  street. 
This  hall  is  now  a  store  room  of  the  cit}^  fire  department. 

From  that  early  time  until  the  present  there  has  been  no  intermission  in 
the  regular  presentation  of  dramatic  performances  by  Czech  amateurs,  al¬ 
though  their  number  was  very  much  reduced  by  the  absence  of  all  the  young 
men  during  the  great  war. 

The  dramatic  society  “Tyl,”  founded  in  1881,  is  named  for  the  great 
Czech  playright,  Josef  Tyl,  who  introduced  into  one  of  his  dramas  the  song 
“Where  is  my  home,”  (see  page  5)  which  has  been  adopted  as  the  national 
hymn.  The  society  “Tyl”  has  60  members  who  take  its  purpose  very  seri¬ 
ously  and  produce  a  drama  every  month  from  October  to  May. 

Almost  every  organization  has  its  dramatic  branch, — churches,  lodges, 
sokols,  and  even  the  Bohemian  Red  Cross.  The  Czech  language  schools  also 
drill  the  children  in  the  drama,  thus  ensuring  a  degree  of  familiar  use  of  cor¬ 
rect  language.  The  play  “Krakonos,”  acted  by  the  children  of  the  Mt. 
Pleasant  center  in  March,  1919,  may  be  described  as  a  type  of  these  plays: 

Krakonos  is  a  hermit,  having  an  enchanted  garden,  cultivated  under  his  direction 
by  dwarves,  elves  and  crickets,  who  after  the  fashion  of  the  stage  do  considerable  dancing 
in  intervals  of  hoeing  and  spading.  In  the  second  scene  is  shown  the  home  of  a  poor 

14 


THE  CZECHS 


OF  CLEVELAND 


widow,  Mrs.  Musil,  who  is  destitute  and  ill.  Her  three  children,  of  whom  the  eldest  is 
Marenka,  are  hungry  and  in  tears.  A  kind  neighbor,  who  is  also  poor,  brings  in  a  loaf  of 
bread,  which  is  all  she  has  to  offer.  There  is  talk  of  a  magic  flower  in  the  garden  of 
Krakonos.  which  would  cure  the  mother.  Marenka  slips  out  to  find  the  garden  and  the 
flower.  As  she  goes  through  the  dark  forest, she  is  hindered  on  every  hand  by  the  dwarves 
elves,  fairies  and  crickets  and  finally  by  a  very  dreadful  witch.  She  is  fearfully  frightened 
but  persists,  and  finally  reaches  the  garden,  but  then  does  not  know  which  flower  is  the 
magic  one.  Some  are  red,  some  are  yellow,  of  pure  gold,  and  in  the  center  is  one  beau¬ 
tiful  white  flower.  Krakonos  appears  while  she  is  looking  about;  he  is  very  tall  and 
frightful,  and  in  a  terrible  voice  accuses  her  of  trying  to  steal  his  gold.  She  tremblingly 
explains  her  real  purpose,  and  he,  not  believing  her,  tells  her  that  the  white  flower  will 
cure  her  mother,  but  that  the  one  who  plucks  it  will  die.  Marenka  plucks  the  flower,  and 
is  struck  by  lightning.  Krakonos,  horrified  at  the  result  of  his  threat,  visits  the  home 
of  the  widow,  places  the  white  flowers  on  her  breast,  and  scatters  the  golden  flowers 
over  the  two  children  who  are  asleep  on  the  bare  floor.  The  mother  begins  to  awaken, 
and  rises  recovered.  The  children  waken,  and  exclaim  at  the  shower  of  gold  which  had 
fallen  upon  them.  A  neighbor  brings  the  dreadful  news  of  Marenka’ s  death,  and  soon 
two  wood-cutters  come  in,  carrying  her  body  on  a  stretcher.  The  cottage  is  full  of  sorrow 
borne  with  courage  and  fortitude  by  the  mother.  Marenka’s  little  form  is  composed  for 
her  burial,  and  the  children  gather  up  the  white  flowers  and  place  them  in  her  arms  for 
adornment.  To  the  surprise  of  all,  the  flowers  restore  her,  even  as  they  had  restored 
the  mother;  the  gold  makes  the  future  look  fairer,  and  the  final  tableau  indicates  the 
happiness  which  comes  from  family  love  and  unselfish  devotion. 

It  is  no  doubt  in  part  this  childhood  training  which  enables  the 
adult  Czech  to  appear  in  public  entirely  without  self  consciousness.  While 
folk  tales  are  the  usual  themes  of  the  juvenile  actors,  the  national  history 
furnishes  the  background  for  most  of  the  adult  performances,  although  “Tyl” 
usually  gives  one  Shakespearean  drama  each  year. 

Musical  Organizations. 

Side  by  side  with  the  dramatic  society  is  the  musical  organization.  The 
devotion  of  the  Czech  to  music  is  well  known.  A  newspaper  squib  attributed 
to  Bohemian  men  a  double  life, — tailors  by  day  and  musicians  by  night. 
Every  Czech  child  takes  music  lessons;  little  girls  have  piano  lessons  first, 
often  followed  by  some  other  instrument,  while  boys  usually  start  with  the 
violin,  and  often  take  up  wind  instruments  also.  This  is  considered  just  as 
necessary  as  any  other  part  of  their  education,  and  it  is  often  the  means  of 
assisting  their  way  through  college  and  professional  schools.  Its  disadvant¬ 
ages  as  such  an  aid  were  indicated  by  a  would-be  athlete,  who  said  sadly  that 
the  student  who  depends  upon  music  to  help  him  financially,  can  not  play 
baseball. 

Most  of  the  orchestras  of  the  city  are  made  up  largely  of  Czechs.  Mr. 
C.  V.  Rychlik,  one  of  the  best  known  violinists  of  the  city,  comes  from  a 
prominent  Czech  family.  Vincent  Charvat  was  one  of  the  best  local  cornetists 
and  Edward  Krejsa  excels  as  a  pianist  and  as  a  conductor.  The  Hruby 
orchestra,  consisting  of  the  talented  members  of  a  single  family,  for  years 
toured  the  country  with  great  appreciation.  The  Hruby  Conservatory  of 
music,  at  5415  Broadway,  is  an  important  center  of  musical  instruction,  and 
there  are  many  other  Czech  teachers  of  great  ability.  Ihe  Machan  family 
also  have  much  more  than  local  fame.  Miss  Clarice  Balas  is  now  on  a 
concert  tour,  and  John  Zamecnik  is  a  widely  known  composer. 

The  musical  society  “Lumir”  has  maintained  its  existence  continuously 
from  1867  until  the  present,  and  has  combined  forces  with  “Hlahol,”  a  younger 
organization.  These  choral  societies  produce  each  season  an  opera  by  some 
distinguished  Czech  composer.  The  most  ambitious  is  Smetana’s  “Bartered 


15 


J 

* 


’St'.  Prokop’s  Church. 


THE  CZECHS 


OF  CLEVELAND 


Bride,”  which  has  been  given  several  times  with  the  assistance  of  other  choral 
societies.  The  1919  performance  was  “Hubicka”  (The  Kiss)  by  the  same 
composer.  The  scene  of  this  opera  is  laid  in  the  mountains  of  Slovensko,  and 
peasant  customs  and  mountain  brigands  share  in  the  action.  The  music 
was  very  well  rendered,  the  acting  was  excellent,  and  the  performance  as  a 
whole  was  fully  equal  to  many  seen  on  the  professional  stage.  The  Cleve¬ 
land  music  lover  should  make  a  point  of  seeing  the  annual  performance  of 
Lumir-Hlahol. 

These  dramatic  and  musical  performances  are  always  reviewed  critically 
by  the  Czech  press,  who  demand  a  high  level  of  excellence. 

Religious  Situation.  . 

The  religious  situation  among  t^  e  Czechs  has  brought  them  more 
notoriety  than  any  other  feature  of  their  life  in  this  country,  and  has  been 
the  occasion  of  much  criticism  and  misunderstanding.  It  is  absurd  to  think 
of  the  compatriots  of  Huss  and  of  Jerome  of  Prague  as  irreligious,  but  to 
understand  their  religious  life  here  it  is  necessary  to  review  their  past  history. 

Religious  BackgroundV 

^  The  Christian  religion  was  brought  to  Bohemia  from  Constantinople 
by  the  apostles  Cyril  and  Methodius,  with  whom  worship  found  expression 
through  the  Slavonic  liturgy.  This  was  used  with  the  permission  of  Pope 
John  VIII  in  the  Czechoslovak  country  until  the  middle  of  the  eleventh 
century,  when  the  Latin  liturgy,  as  generally  used  in  the  western  church, 
was  substituted  for  it.  A  recent  petition  to  the  Pope  has  requested  a  return 
to  the  Slavonic  liturgy. 

.The  first  of  the  great  religious  reformers  ’^as  the  English  Wycliife;  the 
second  was  Bohemia’s  “learned  doctor,”  Jan  Hus, (John  Huss), who  was  burned 
as  a,  heretic  hi  1415.  His  body  perished  at  the  stake,  but  his  spirit  will  never 
cease  to,  inspire  the  Bohemian  people.  He  stands  to  them  for  freedom, 
whether  from  clericalisrn  and  ecclesiastical  domination,  or  for  political  freedom, 
or  for  freedom  from  German  influence;  for  the  spirit  of  the  Czech  language, 
which  he  made  the  vehicle  of  a  greatjiterature ;  for  democracy,  since  “the  com¬ 
munion  of  the  cup”  was  the  religious  expression  of  democracy,  and  since  he 
represented  the  people  rather  than  the  priestly  class;  for  freedom  of  speech, for 
which, died;  and  finally  as  the  incarnation  of  resistance  to  oppression,  what¬ 
ever  ^ts  source.  It  is  because  he  stands  for  all  these  things  that  his  name  is 
borne  by  Czech  societies  of  every  shade,  of  religious  belief. 

For  almost  two  hundred  years  Bohemia  was  a  Protestant  country,  the 
first  in  Europe.  Assailed  on  every  side  by  the  German  race,  its  political  down¬ 
fall  in  1620  w§s  followed  by  the  complete  extirpation  of  Protestantism.  The 
nation  of  over  four  million  people  was  reduced  to  a  mere  eight  hundred  thou¬ 
sand,^  and  by  ’\yill  of  the  emperor  all  were  Roman  Catholics.  Until  1870  no 
other  religion  was  tolerated  in  Bohemia.  Then  freedom  was  permitted  to  cer¬ 
tain  reformed  groups,  but  not  to  the  Bohemian  Brethren,  the  descendants  of 
thC;  Hussites. 

Religion  in  America. 

.  This  background  shows  the  inherited  preparation  for  religious  revolt  ex¬ 
isting  among  the  Czechs  when  they  came  to  this  country.  They  were  almost 
all  Catholics, but  the  possibility  of  being  whatever  they  liked  was  stimulating. 
Some  of  the  early  clergy  failed  to  appreciate  this,  and  employed  the  same  arbi- 


17 


Scene  from  the  1912  Festival. 


THE  CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


trary  methods  of  control  which  they  had  been  accustomed  to  use  in  the  old 
country.  In  Cleveland,  the  first  break  came  through  the  opposition  of  the 
priest  to  a  fraternal  organization.  This  organization,  the  Cecho-Slavonic  Be¬ 
nevolent  Association,  seems  to  have  been  quite  harmless  in  original  intention, 
having  as  its  object  mutual  assistance  and  fraternal  insurance.  Its  members 
felt  that  the  priest  opposed  it  because  he  could  not  dominate  it.  The  priest 
said  that  it  taught  ideas  subversive  of  faith  and  morality.  Recrimination  grew 
fierce  and  bitter,  and  nothing  was  too  bad  for  either  to  say  about  the  other. 

Just  at  this  time  Thomas  Paine’s  “Age  of  Reason”  was  translated  into 
Bohemian,  and  became  the  weapon  of  the  liberal  party.  Robert  E.  Ingersoll, 
then  in  the  height  of  his  personal  power, became  to  them  the  19th  century  apos¬ 
tle  of  religious  freedom,  and  the  pendulum  of  religious  faith  swung  to  the  fur¬ 
thest  extreme  of  complete  denial  of  all  creeds  and  of  every  religious  form.  The 
Czechs  of  America  were  divided  into  two  camps,  those  who  remained  faithful 
to  the  church,  and  those  who  professed  an  absolute  denial  of  all  religion.  This 
denial  became  a  religion  in  itself.  Persecution  was  enjoyed  as  the  natural 
corollary  of  progressive  thought,  and  the  free  thinking  organizations  by  the  end 
of  the  80’s  included  fully  half  of  the  Czechs  of  Cleveland. 

Any  movement  of  protest  loses  impetus  when  resistance  ceases,  and  the 
zeal  of  the  free  thinking  movement  could  not  be  passed  on  in  its  first  fervor 
from  the  founders  to  their  successors,  who  had  never  personally  known  the 
need  for  protest.  Many  of  the  second  generation  have  grown  up  into  what 
their  parents  call  “  the  American  indiflference,”  while  others  have  found  a  bal¬ 
ance  of  the  pendulum  in  the  Protestant  churches. 

The  present  religious  situation  of  the  Czechs  in  Cleveland  then  has  three 
aspects :  there  are  those  who  have  remained  consistently  loyal  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  church;  these  are  about  half  the  total  number;  there  are  the  positive 
free  thinkers,  whose  number  is  steadily  diminishing;  the  third  group  is  the 
Protestants,  among  whom  the  young  people  are  joining  the  English-speaking 
congregations  of  the  city  and  entirely  ceasing  to  be  identified  as  Czechs.  A 
fourth  group  might  be  made  of  the  young  people  who  are  entirely  indifferent 
to  religion. 

The  First  Church  in  Cleveland. 

The  first  Czech  priest  in  Cleveland  was  the  Rev.  Antonin  Krasny,  who 
came  to  the  city  in  1857,  after  eight  years  in  an  Austrian  prison  because  of  his 
part  in  the  Revolution  of  1848.  In  prison  he  had  contracted  an  illness  from 
which  he  never  afterwards  was  free,  and  which  was  the  cause  of  his  death  in 
1870.  His  sufferings  in  his  country’s  cause  undoubtedly  furnished  a  favorable 
atmosphere  among  his  countrymen  here,  and  he  was  very  much  liked.  As  pas¬ 
tor  of  St.  Joseph’s  German  church  on  Woodland  avenue,  he  ministered  also  to 
the  Czechs  of  the  city.  In  1863  they  organized  within  St.  Joseph’s  church  the 
society  of  St.  John  Nepomucene,  which  was  the  nucleus  of  the  first  Czech 
church.  This  church  was  founded  in  1867  and  named  St.  Vaclav’s  after 
the  first  Christian  king  of  Bohemia,  who  reigned  from  928  to  936  and  was 
afterwards  canonized.  Later  the  official  name  of  the  church  was  changed  to 
the  Latinized  form  St.  Wenceslas.  The  first  church  building,  erected  in  the 
fall  of  1867,  at  the  corner  of  Arch  and  Burwell  streets,  was  with  great  effort 
completed  before  Christmas,  and  the  first  service  actually  took  place  on  Dec. 
22.  A  rectory  and  school  building  were  added  two  years  later,  and  from  this 
center  initiative  was  furnished  for  the  establishment  of  the  other  early  Czech 


19 


THE  CZECHS  OF 


CLEVELAND 


St,  Prokop’s  School. 

parishs.  In  1886,  St.  Wenceslas  church  followed  its  congregation  to  the 
Broadway  neighborhood,  and  erected  a  beautiful  new  church  at  the  corner  of 
Broadway  and  East  37th  streets.  Since  then  both  churches  have  been  main¬ 
tained  for  service,  the  rectory  remaining  at  2666  East  35th  Place. 

The  old  school  building  on  Burwell  avenue  is  used  by  the  higher  grades, 
while  the  younger  children  attend  school  in  a  building  next  the  new  church, 
which  building  also  houses  the  teachers,  who  are  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph.  The 
school  at  present  has  about  400  pupils. 

Rev.  Antonin  Hynek,  who  came  to  this  parish  in  1873,  spent  a  long  life  in 
its  care,  remaining  in  charge  until  his  death  in  1917.  During  his  last  years, 
however,  his  ill  health,  placed  most  of  the  duties  of  the  parish  upon  his  assistant 
Rev.  Joseph  W.  Koudelka,  who  has  since  been  appointed  pastor.  Father  Kou- 
delka  is  a  nephew  of  Bishop  Koudelka.  The  present  situation  of  St.  Wenceslas 
is  a  difficult  one,  since  it  is  the  problem  of  a  changing  neighborhood.  The  pros¬ 
perous  and  progressive  parishioners  have  all  moved  farther  out, and  the  district 
is  becoming  one  of  a  very  mixed  population,  in  which  the  Czech  will  not  long 
predominate. 

St.  Prokop^s  Church. 

The  second  Czech  parish  in  the  city  was  founded  in  1874  on  the  west  side. 
It  was  named  for  St.  Prokop,  who  was  one  of  the  early  pupils  of  SS.  Cyril  and 
Methodius,  and  was  the  founder  of  a  religious  order  adapted  especially  to  the 
needs  of  the  Slav  race.  The  first  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Joseph  M.  Koudelka, 


20 


THE 


CZECHS 


O  F 


CLEVELAND 


now  bishop  of  Wisconsin,  who  is  the  only  Czech  yet  raised  to  a  bishopric  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  church  in  this  country.  The  present  pastor  is  the  Rev.  Peter 
M.  Cerveny,  who  has  been  in  charge  of  the  parish  since  1901  and  has  superin¬ 
tended  the  erection  of  most  of  the  buildings  now  in  use.  St.  Prokop’s  church 
is  at  the  comer  of  West  41st  street  and  Trent  avenue,  and  the  parish  buildings 
extend  through  to  Newark  avenue,  and  constitute  one  of  the  most  complete 
church  plants  in  the  city. 

The  church  itself  is  a  fine  large  edifice,  the  interior  decorations  of  which 
were  all  specially  designed.  The  baptistry  is  of  black  Russian  marble, and  the 
stations  of  the  cross  are  excellent  statuary  groups.  Within  the  chancel  are 
replicas  of  two  miraculous  statues  on  the  Holy  Mountain  (Svata  Hora)  in  Bo¬ 
hemia.  They  are  known  as  “The  Virgin  of  Prague”and  “The  Infant  of  Prague” 
and  many  pilgrimages  are  made  to  the  originals.  These  copies  are  exact  du¬ 
plicates  of  the  figures,  embroidered  robes,  and  hand-wrought  golden  crowns 
set  with  jewels,  and  when  ready  for  Cleveland  they  were  touched  to  the  mirac¬ 
ulous  originals. 

St.  Prokop’s  is  a  really  beautiful  church,  the  finest  of  the  Czech  churches 
in  the  city.  Its  service  flag  bears  176  stars,  of  which  six  are  now  in  gold.  The 
names  of  these  six  young  men  are  recorded  on  a  memorial  tablet.  To  accom¬ 
modate  the  large  congregation,  four  sermons  are  preached  every  Sunday,  one  of 
which  is  always  in  English. 

The  parochial  school  building  is  also  up  to  the  standard  of  the  very  best  in 
school  buildings.  Ample  space,  well  lighted  and  clean  hallways,  and  well 
equipped  school  rooms  put  it  in  a  different  class  from  most  parochial  schools 
buildings.  There  is  a  kindergarten,  the  only  one  in  a  Catholic  school  in  Cleve¬ 
land;  among  Bohemian  parochial  schools  there  is  only  one  other,  which  is  in 
Chicago.  Besides  the  kindergarten  and  the  eight  grades,  two  years  of  commer¬ 
cial  work  are  given.  A  special  teacher  of  music  gives  vocal  and  instrumental 
lessons  to  classes  and  individuals.  The  teachers  belong  to  the  Sisters  of  Notre 
Dame;  they  have  in  their  charge  800  pupils. 

In  the  building  is  a  library  of  both  English  and  Bohemian  books,  especially 
strong  in  Czech  folk-lore;  there  is  also  a  well  equipped  gymnasium,  and  provi¬ 
sion  for  basket  ball,  indoor  baseball,  and  similar  sports;  the  gymnasium  fur¬ 
nishes  also  an  excellent  dancing  floor  for  social  nights. 

On  the  ground  floor  is  the  theater,  with  a  stage  large  enough  to  mass  three 
hundred  children  upon  it  and  with  several  sets  of  good  scenery.  Dramatic  per¬ 
formances  are  given  here  regularly  by  the  parish  dramatic  society  named 
for  the  Czech  poet,  Boleslav  Jablonsky. 

On  Newark  avenue  is  the  club  house, into  which  the  old  church  was  altered. 
The  ground  floor  is  divided  into  lodge  rooms;  the  upper  floor  is  a  recreation 
hall.  Three  tables  offer  opportunity  for  billiards  and  pool  and  a  second  room 
is  equipped  for  table  games.  A  small  stage  is  convenient  for  boxing  exhibi¬ 
tions  and  other  entertainments.  While  these  rooms  are  used  chiefly  by  men, 
“ladies’  nights”  keep  the  place  from  becoming  exclusively  masculine. 

The  parish  property  includes  also  a  handsome  rectory,  harmonizing  in  ar¬ 
chitecture  with  church  and  school ;  two  houses  connected  by  a  covered  passage 
for  the  teachers;  a  house  for  the  janitor;  and  a  separate  heating  plant.  A 
monthly  parish  paper  is  called  “Mesicni  Viestnik”  (The  Monthly  Messenger). 

Our  Lady  of  Lourdes  Church. 

When  the  Czechs  began  to  move  out  Broadway,  Father  Hynek  bought 
land  at  Hamm  avenue  and  East  54th  street  where  the  parish  of  Our  Lady  of 

21 


» 


Our  Lady  of  Lourdes  School  and  Church 


THE  CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


Lourdes  was  established  in  1883,  with  Rev.  Stephen  Furdek  as  its  pastor. 
Father  Furdek  was  a  Slovak  and  a  national  leader  in  Slovak  affairs,  while  re¬ 
maining  all  his  life  the  pastor  of  this  Czech  parish.  All  classes  of  people  pro¬ 
nounce  upon  him  the  ideal  obituary,  “He  was  a  very  good  man.”  Our  Lady  of 
Lourdes  grew  to  a  commanding  position  under  his  care,  and  is  still  the  largest 
Bohemian  parish  in  the  city,  having  a  membership  of  about  six  thousand  per¬ 
sons.  The  parochial  school  has  a  registration  of  900  pupils  who  are  taught  by 
the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame. 

The  parish  organization  of  our  Lady  of  Lourdes  is  very  extensive.  There 
are  forty-five  societies,  several  of  which  are  uniformed  organizations  whose  ap¬ 
pearance  adds  color  to  the  parish  celebrations.  Among  them  are  the  Knights 
of  Columbus,,  the  Cadets  of  St.  Alexander,  the  Hunters  of  St.  George,  the 
Catholic  Foresters,  and  the  parish  Sokol  organization.  The  musical  and  dra- 
maiet  society,  “Antonin  Dvorak”,  named  for  the  great  Czech  composer,  has  a 
membership  of  300  persons,  and  a  second  one  is  called  the  “Vaclav  Benes  Tre- 
biszky  Society,”  after  the  popular  Czech  novelist.  These  societies  present 
dramas  in  the  parish  hall  at  frequent  intervals.  A  parish  paper  “Farnik”  (the 
Parishioner)  is  published  semi-monthly  and  is  of  newspaper  size. 

A  number  of  Cleveland  priests  now  holding  important  charges  have 
served  their  apprenticeship  as  assistants  at  Our  Lady  of  Lourdes.  Among  them 
are  Rev.  V.  J.  Horak,  pastor  of  St.  Martin’s  Slovak  church;  Rev.  J.  W.  Becka, 
of  St.  Adalbert’s  Bohemian  parish;  and  the  Rev.  V.  A.  Chaloupka,  of  the  Slo¬ 
vak  parish  of  St.  Mary  of  the  Nativity.  The  present  assistant,  Rev.  C.W.  Dik, 
has  carried  the  entire  responsibility  of  the  parish  during  considerable  intervals 
in  the  lasc  five  years;  first  during  the  illness  of  Father  Furdek  and  the  interim 
before  the  appointment  of  his  successor.  Rev.  Oldrich  Zlamal,  and  lately  during 
the  absence  of  Father  Zlamal  in  the  nationalistic  work  which  has  resulted  so 
splendidly. 

The  essential  unity  of  the  Czechoslovak  state  is  shown  in  the  history  of 
this  Czech  parish  and  its  two  pastors:  Father  Furdek,  a  Slovak,  whose  great 
interest  outside  his  parish  was  the  welfare  and  improvement  of  the  Slovak 
race;  and  Father  Zlamal,  a  Moravian,  previously  pastor  of  a  Slovak  parish, 
whose  patriotic  services  have  greatly  contributed  to  the  success  of  the  Czecho¬ 
slovak  cause. 

Until  the  war,  a  great  gulf  yawned  between  Catholic  and  free  thinking 
Czechs.  Father  Zlamal  was  a  strong  factor  among  the  wise  leaders  who  bridged 
the  chasm  so  that  all  might  work  together  for  the  common  cause.  He  spent 
much  time  during  the  years  1917  and  1918  making  addresses  and  otherwise 
working  for  the  cause  in  this  country,  and  during  the  period  from  February  to 
September,  1919,  as  a  chaplain  of  the  Knights  of  Colvimbus,  he  carried  the  mes¬ 
sage  of  American  sympathy  and  support  to  the  people  of  Bohemia.  Father 
Zlamal  and  Monsignor  Bouska,  of  Tabor,  South  Dakota,  were  commissioned 
by  the  Holy  See  to  explain  to  the  people  of  the  new  republic  the  American  plan 
of  the  separation  of  church  and  state.  In  pursuit  of  this  mission  Father  Zlamal 
traveled  through  the  country  addressing  Czecho-Slovaks  of  every  faith,  and  so 
helped  to  prepare  public  sentiment  for  the  present  Commission  on  the  Separa¬ 
tion  of  Church  and  State.  His  return  in  September  was  celebrated  by  an  en¬ 
thusiastic  reception  on  the  part  of  his  parishioners,  to  many  of  whom  he 
brought  direct  word  from  their  relatives  whom  he  had  seen  and  talked  with  in 
the  old  country. 


23 


THE 


CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


St.  Adalbert’s  Church. 

St.  Adalbert’s  church  was  formed  in  “East  Cleveland”  in  1882,  and  v/as 
originally  called  St.  Vojtech,  which  is  the  Czecji  form  of  the  same  name.  It  is 
situated  at  2347  East  83rd  street,  between  Quincy  and  Central  avenues. 
When  the  new  church  was  completed  recently,  the  old  one  was  converted  into 
a  gymnasium,  where  a  systematic  athletic  program  is  carried  out.  The  bell  of 
the  new  church  rings  the  sweeter,  because  it  was  specially  made  in  Bohemia. 
The  parochial  school  is  taught  by  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  and  has  about 
300  pupils.  The  parish  paper  is  “Mesicni  Prehled”  (Monthly  Review). 

Church  of  St.  John  Nepomucene. 

The  parish  of  St.  John  Nepomucene  is  an  outgrowth  of  “Our  Lady  of 
Lourdes”  parish.  It  was  founded  in  1902,  and  has  had  as  its  pastor  since  its 
formation  the  Rev.  F.  J.  Hroch.  A  large  new  church  of  good  architectural  de¬ 
sign  has  just  been  completed  at  Fleet  avenue  and  East  50th  street  and  the  old 
church  has  been  altered  into  school  rooms.  A  handsome  rectory  on  Inde¬ 
pendence  road,  and  a  building  with  school  rooms  on  the  ground  floor  and 
residence  space  for  teachers  on  the  second  floor  complete  the  present  group  of 
buildings.  There  are  650  children  in  the  school,  and  the  teachers  are  Sisters  oy 
St.  Dominic. 

Holy  Family  Church. 

The  Church  of  the  Holy  Family  was  built  some  years  ago  as  a  small 
chapel  at  East  131st  street  and  Chapelside  avenue,  and  was  maintained  as  a 
chapel  of  Our  Lady  of  Lourdes.  It  has  now  grown  into  a  separate  parish, 
and  a  fine  church  building  is  projected,  to  care  for  the  needs  of  one  of  the 
most  rapidly  growing  parts  of  the  city. 

Protestant  Churches. 

The  Protestant  Bohemian  churches  make  a  comparatively  small  show¬ 
ing,  and  it  is  probable  that  their  special  mission  is  nearly  fulfilled.  They  are 
as  follows:  Cyril  Congregational  church,  at  West  43rd  street  and  Cyril 
avenue.  Rev.  John  Musil,  pastor;  Emanuel  Congregational  Church,  2373 
East  82nd  st. ;  Mizpah  Congregational  Church,  East  59th  street,  near  Fleet 
avenue.  Rev.  Philip  Reitinger,  pastor;  Broadway  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  Broadway  and  Gallup  avenues,  Rev.  E.  E.  Pierce,  pastor,  Rev. 
V.  J.  Louzecky,  Bohemian  pastor. 

The  original  members  of  these  churches  were  the  comparatively  small 
number  of  Czechs  who,  on  leaving  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  id  not 
swing  to  the  free  thinking  extreme  and  the  equally  small  number  of  Protestant 
immigrants.  Their  organizations  are  losing  power  simply  because  their 
second  generation  are  completely  absorbed  into  American  life  and  English 
speaking  churches.  The  system  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church  promotes 
solidarity  of  races,  the  young  people  being  held  to  the  parish  allegiance  of 
their  parents.  As  the  older  people  disappear  from  the  congregations  the 
churches  will  necessarily  come  to  be  entirely  English  speaking,  but  the  change 
comes  slowly.  Among  the  Protestants,  on  the  contrary,  no  effort  is  made  to 
hold  the  second  generation  to  the  Bohemian  language,  and  their  young 
people  choose  their  church  affiliations  out  of  the  whole  range  of  city  oppor¬ 
tunities. 

All  these  churches  do  work  which  is  interesting  and  vital,  and  their 
organization  is  very  dear  to  the  older  memters  of  their  congregations,  to 

24 


THE  CZECHS 


OF  CLEVELAND 


whom  Protestantism  is  not  only  a  religion,  but  also  an  expression  of  freedom. 
Mizpah,  which  was  planned  as  a  Polish  mission,  but  developed  into  a  Bo¬ 
hemian  one,  has  been  self-supporting  from  the  start,  and  it  has  the  largest 
group  of  active  young  members.  It  is  therefore  quite  probable  that  it  may 
develop  into  a  strong  American  church. 

The  Broadway  Methodist  Episcopal  is,  doing  the  largest  work  at 
present,  and  this  is  possible  because  it  maintains  its  Bohemian  organiza¬ 
tion  only  as  supplementary  to  its  English.  Its  Sunday  school  has  long  been 
an  important  influence  in  the  community,  and  within  the  last  few  years  a 
large  program  of  community  service  has  been  undertaken.  The  new  church 
on  Broadway,  opposite  Magnet  avenue,  now  nearing  completion,  will  afford 
enlarged  opportunities,  and  it  is  planned  to  retain  the  old  building  as  a  center 

for  social  activities.  The  work  is  social  in  the  broadest  sense,  and  everv  effort 

■  ^ 

is  made  to  avoid  even  the  suspicion  of  proselyting. 

National  Halls 

Among  the  Czechs  of  liberal  thought,  the  national  halls  supply  centers 
corresponding  in  a  way  to  the  church  centers  of  the  religiously  loyal,  and  it 
must  be  admitted  that  the  national  halls  offer  more  attractions  on  the  social 
side  than  most  of  the  churches  .  They  are  genuine  social  centers,  and  they 
thrive  because  they  are  the  expression  by  the  people  themselves  of  their  own 
definite  social  desires. 

The  largest  and  most  important  of  these  halls  is  the  Bohemian  National 
Hall  at  4939  Broadway,  and  its  organization  may  be  described  as  typical  of 
them  all.  It  is  owned  by  the  community,  having  been  erected  in  1889  by 
personal  gifts,  money  raised  by  bazaars  and  the  like,  and  by  contributions 
which  took  the  form  of  shares  of  stock  on  the  part  of  various  organizations 
officially  combining  in  the  efforts  for  the  building.  These  shares  have  been 
gradually  paid  off  from  the  income  of  the  building,  until  now, of  the  thirty- 
four  societies  having  stock,  none  has  more  than  $100.  These  societies  include 
twelve  chapters  of  C.  S.  P.  S.  and  nine  chapters  of  women’s  beneficiary 
organizations,  the  other  thirteen  societies  having  varied  aims  and  purposes. 
The  management  rests  in  a  board  called  the  Patronat,  consisting  on  two 
delegates  from  each  of  these  societies.  The  Patronat  annually  elect  from  their 
own  number  a  board  of  thirteen  directors  who  are  responsible  for  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  the  building  during  their  term  of  office.  Joseph  Frcka,  as  president 
of  the  board  of  directors,  is  a  hard-working  executive  officer.  Seventy-three 
societies  meet  here  regularly,  some  as  often  as  once  a  week,  others  only  once 
a  month.  The  property  is  now  worth  about  $80,000.  It  consists  of  a 
large  brick  building,  with  stores  on  the  front  of  the  ground  floor.  Between 
these  stores  is  a  broad  entrance  to  the  hall  proper.  On  the  ground 
floor  are  the  ticket  stand,  several  large  committee  rooms,  and  a  small  theatre, 
designed  especially  for  children’s  entertainments.  This  room  is  also  used 
for  athletic  work.  Living  quarters  for  the  janitor  ensure  his  continual  pres¬ 
ence.  On  the  second  floor  is  the  large  theatre,  which  with  the  balcony  will 
seat  1000  persons.  Check  rooms,  retiring  rooms,  refreshment  room,  dressing 
rooms  for  actors,  and  the  stage,  occupy  the  rest  of  the  floor.  The  drop  cur¬ 
tain  is  a  view  of  one  of  the  bridges  of  “Golden  Prague”  with  the  Hradcany  in 
the  background,  and  there  are  many  sets  of  scenery.  The  third  and  fourth 
floors  are  divided,  into- lodge ‘rooms,  and  the  numerous  group  photographs, 
on  the  walls  furnish  material  for  a  history  of  their  respective  organizations. 


25 


THE  CZECHS  OF 


CLEVELAND 


Almost  every  room  has  a  portrait  of  John  Huss,  and  of  Zizka,  and  also  a 
portrait  of  the  patriot  or  writer,  for  whom  the  individual  lodge  is  named. 
Portraits  of  Fugner  and  Tyrs  and  trophies  of  contests  won,  adorn  the  walls 
of  the  room  used  bv  the  Sokols. 

In  the  lobby  a  large,  hand-carved  frame  contains  mementoes  from  the 
graves  of  Bohemia’s  great, — composers,  musicians,  poets,  patriots  and  novel¬ 
ists  are  all  represented  by  this  collection,  made  in  Bohemia  by  Joseph  Stibr 
and  framed  in  Cleveland  by  Alois  Klimes. 

An  addition  to  the  original  building  contains  four  school  rooms  for  the 
use  of  the  Czech  language  schools,  concerning  which  mention  will  be  made 
later. 

The  next  largest  hall  is  the  Bohemian  Sokol  Hall  at  4314  Clark  avenue, 
which  is  a  center  for  the  West  Side.  This  hall  was  purchased  from  the 
Hungarians.  A  “garden”  furnishes  a  place  for  summer  gatherings,  with  a 
pavilion  for  dancing  and  other  entertainment. 

The  Bohemian  American  Hall,  (Ceska  America  Sin)  at  8802  Quincy 
avenue  is  a  rallying  place  for  its  neighborhood.  It  was  built  in  1910  by  the 
combined  efforts  of  eleven  organizations,  and  every  inch  of  the  space  is  fully 
used.  There  are  school  rooms  and  lodge  rooms,  all  having  on  their  walls 
portraits  of  the  national  heroes,  Huss  and  Zizka,  while  the  main  part  of  the 
building  is  the  large  hall  which  is  also  used  as  a  gymnasium  and  as  a  dance 
hall.  The  stage  is  well  proportioned  with  good  dressing  rooms,  and  the  drop 
curtain  depicts  the  castle  of  Probulov  in  southern  Bohemia. 

Jan  Amos  Komensky  Hall,  at  East  131st  street  and  Lambert  avenue  is 
named  for  the  great  educator  of  whom  all  Czechs  are  justly  proud.  It  fur¬ 
nishes  an  important  contribution  to  the  neighborhood  life  of  a  young  com¬ 
munity  where  no  other  organization  is  attempting  social  activities.  Six 
societies  were  in  its  original  Patronat,  and  its  equipment  and  management 
is  distinctly  high  class.  One  set  of  scenery  cost  $700,  and  the  curtain  is  a 
picture  of  Hradcany  castle,  in  which,  it  is  proudly  stated.  President  Masaryk 
now  has  his  official  residence.  There  are  two  school  rooms,  attended  on 
Saturdays  and  Sundays  by  200  children,  who  are  graded  into  four  classes. 

The  “Ceska  Spolkova  Sin”  (Bohemian  Lodge  Hall,)  at  11306  Buckeye 
road  is  the  youngest  of  these  community  halls;  it  was  erected  in  1916,  and 
the  present  building  is  regarded  as  the  nucleus  to  which  additions  will  be 
made  as  soon  as  war  conditions  are  fully  past.  It  consists  now  of  one  large 
hall  which  undergoes  frequent  transformations.  An  adjustable  stage  makes 
it  a  theatre;  adjustable  desks  make  it  a  school  room;  athletic  apparatus,  in 
turn,  converts  it  into  a  gymnasium;  simple  furniture  makes  it  into  a  lodge 
hall,  while  the  removal  of  all  furniture  makes  the  final  transformation  into  a 
ball  room. 

All  these  halls  are  equipped  with  kitchens  and  refreshment  rooms,  and 
are  the  scenes  of  frequent  community  dances.  The  dramatic  performance  is 
invariably  followed  by  a  dance,  the  chairs  being  removed  and  the  floor 
cleared  with  lightning  rapidity.  These  dances  are  conducted  in  such  a  way 
as  to  furnish  wholesome  pleasure  to  the  young  people.  They  are  in  no  sense 
promiscuous  affairs,  the  supervision  being  very  close.  In  many  cases  all  guests 
are  registered  by  name.  Since  the  attendance  is  that  of  a  homogeneous  social 
group,  the  individual  guests  are  almost  always  known  either  by  family  or  by 
personal  reputation,  to  the  management,  and  the  possibility  of  undesirable 
associations  is  reduced  to  a  minimum. 


26 


•t  J.* 


THE  CZECHS 


O  F 


CLEVELAND 


Bohemian  National  Hall. 


Thus,  through  schools,  gymnasiums,  lodges,  musical  and  dramatic 
performances,  receptions  and  dances,  these  halls  furnish  social  life  and  a 
variety  of  interests  for  every  age  in  their  community. 


Czech  Language  Schools 

The  schools  are  under  the  direction  of  the  “Bohemian  Free  Thinkers 
School  Organization,”  whose  headquarters  is  in  Chicago. 

The  Czech  loves  his  native  language,  which  was,  during  the  centuries  of 
Austrian  oppression,  his  only  means  of  national  assertion.  Now  he  wishes  his 
children  to  retain  this  tie  to  the  past,  and  it  is  only  through  special  effort  that 
they  have  any  chance  to  do  so,  since  English  is  their  ordinary  language.  These 
schools  have  therefore  a  decidedly  cultural  value,  since  they  add  to  the  child’s 
equipment  knowledge  of  a  second  language,  and  through  that  language 
access  to  the  treasures  of  history  and  literature  which  are  legitimately 


27 


THE  CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


their  own  by  right  of  inheritance.  The  dramatic  entertainments  given  by 
the  children  are  designed  to  familiarize  them  with  the  use  of  correct  Bohemian. 
They  use  text  books  compiled  by  Vojta  Benes,  a  brother  of  the  present  min¬ 
ister  of  foreign  affairs  in  Czecho-Slovakia,  and  the  five  local  schools  secure  a 
co-ordination  of  effort  through  the  “Association  of  Bohemian  Freethinking 
Schools,”  consisting  of  the  eighteen  teachers  and  an  equal  number  of  repre¬ 
sentatives  from  the  supporting  societies. 

N'  I  The  Catholic  children  have  hitherto  had  instruction  in  the  Czech  language 
in  connection  with  the  religious  instruction  in  the  parochial  schools,  but 
in^  recent  years  the  number  of  teachers  qualified  for  this  instruction  has 
become  so  small  that  this  is  now  by  no  means  universal. 

It  is  unfortunately  true  that  in  spite  of  all  effort  on  the  part  of  parents 
and  teachers,  comparatively  few  young  people  are  growing  up  to  read  the 
Czech  language.  Many  speak  it  because  of  the  presence  in  the  home  of 
grandparents  who  have  never  learned  English,  but  they  throw  away  their 
opportunity  to  know  its  fine  literature  and  associations. 

The  Sokols. 

Gymnastic  work  stands  with  music  and  the  drama  as  among  the  things 
without  which  the  Czech  cannot  live.  Gymnasituns  have  been  mentioned  as 
part  of  the  equipment  of  churches  and  national  halls.  A  large  proportion  of 
the  athletic  groups  using  these  gymnasiums  are  branches  of  the  great  Sokol 
organization,  which,  founded  in  Prague  in  1862,  has  spread  throughout  the 
Slav  world. 

“Sokol”  means  falcon.  This  bird  is  native  to  Bohemia,  and  is  conspicu¬ 
ous  there  for  its  strength,  freedom,  and  swiftness.  The  costiune  of  the  Sokol 
societies  is  characterized  by  a  falcon’s  feather  in  the  cap. 

The  founders  of  the  organization  were  Dr.  Miroslav  Tyrs  and  Jindrich 
Fuegner,  two  young  men  of  vision,  who  saw  in  physical  education  a  means  of 
developing  in  the  Czech  nation  firmness,  self-consciousness,  and  racial  pride. 
The  Austrian  government,  which  looked  with  suspicion  on  every  kind  of 
public  gathering,  did  not  at  the  beginning  scent  danger  in  this  union  of  men 
for  the  sole  ostensible  purpose  of  gymnastic  training  and  systematic  physical 
development,  and  the  organization  spread  like  wildfire.  Subsequent  perse¬ 
cution  only  gave  tenacity  to  the  adherents  of  the  movement  whose  aim  is 
summarized  as  the  effort  to  produce  “brave,  courageous  young  men,  strong 
and  orderly  men  in  line.” 

A  sound  mind  in  a  sound  body,  inspired  by  patriotism  and  the  spirit  of 
brotherhood,  is  the  aim  of  the  Sokol.  Physical  and  moral  perfection,  patriot¬ 
ism,  democracy  and  progress  are  the  definite  aims.  A  system  of  gymnastics 
worked  out  by  the  founder,  Tyrs,  is  the  basis  of  all  the  physical  training. 

Classes  for  girls  and  women,  and  for  children  grouped  according  to  age, 
extend  the  benefits  of  this  training.  In  1912  a  great  tournament  took  place 
in  Prague,  in  which  13,000  persons  were  on  the  field  at  one  time  in  perfect 
alignment.  It  is  probable  that  no  meet  of  equal  size  and  perfection  of  work 
was  ever  held  in  the  world  before.  The  next  great  festival  will  take  place, 
not  in  an  Austrian  Bohemia,  but  in  the  free  Czechoslovak  Republic,  in  whose 
establishment  the  Sokols  justly,  claim  a  large  share.  About  thirty  Cleveland 
Czechs  attended  the  1912  festival  y  going  on  a  special  ship  which  flew  the 
Czech  flag.  On  the  voyage,  Mr.  Frank  J.  Svoboda,  of  the  daily  American, 


28 


i 

I 

1 


Field  Day  Exhibition 


THE  CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


published  a  chronicle“  Cech  na  Oceanu”  (The  Bohemian  on  the  Ocean) 
whose  eight  numbers  furnish  an  interesting  record  of  the  trip. 

As  gymnastics  provide  for  the  sound  body,  so  the  Sokol  desire  for  a 
sound  mind  seeks  its  goal  through  dramatic  and  musical  training,  lectures  on 
educational  subjects  and  the  establishment  of  libraries. 

In  Cleveland  “Sokol  Cech”  was  founded  in  1879;  it  owns  its  own  hall  at 
4820  Wendell  avenue,  and  has  at  present  148  men  and  46  women  members. 
“Sokol  Nova  Vlast”  (the  new  Fatherland)  organized  in  January,  1893,  gives 
the  name  to  the  Bohemian  Sokol  Hall  on  Clark  avenue,  where  it  has  133 
men  and  95  women  members;  “Sokol  Cleveland,”  founded  in  1895,  having  172 
men  and  122  women  members,  has  built  its  own  hall  at  8932  Quincy  avenue. 

“Sokol  Tyrs,”  founded  in  1906,  meets  at  11110  Buckeye  road  with  54 
men  and  60  women  members,  while  the  youngest  society,  “Sokol  Havlicek,” 
meets  in  the  Bohemian  National  Hall  on  Broadway  with  132  men  and  105 
women  members.  This  Sokol  is  named  for  the  patriot  and  statesman,  Karel 
Havlicek,  who  died  a  martyr  to  the  freedom  of  the  press. 

All  the  Sokols  conduct  gymnastic  classes  in  groups  according  to  age  and 
sex.  Sokol  Cleveland,  for  example,  has  one  class  for  young  boys ;  one  for  little 
girls;  another  for  girls  from  10  to  15  years  of  age;  one  for  men;  and  one  for 
women.  Exhibitions  of  Sokol  work  are  given  by  each  branch  at  least  once  a 
year.  This  annual  “home  day”  is  a  very  pleasant  occasion.  All  the  family 
from  the  grandparents  to  the  tiny  children  go  to  see  the  family  member  take 
part.  An  orchestra  furnishes  music  and  the  athletes  do  their  most  specta¬ 
cular  feats.  The  girls  wear  short  skirts  of  navy  blue,  and  white  blouses  with 
red  ties;  the  men,  long  trousers  of  blue  jersey  cloth,  and  v'hite  jerseys  edged 
at  neck  and  arms  with  red, — a  costume  of  excessive  modesty  compared  with 
that  of  our  college  athletes. 

Exercises  on  the  horizontal  bar,  parallel  bars,  the  horses,  jumping  and 
calisthenics  constitute  the  program,  terminating  with  really  fine  “living 
pictures.”  At  Sokol  Cleveland’s  last  home-day,  the  final  tableau  was  a 
living  pyramid  reaching  to  the  ceiling — a  remarkable  exhibition  for  amateurs. 

An  Instructors’  branch,  meeting  monthly,  secures  uniformity  of 
effort,  and  an  annual  field  day  brings  all  local  Sokols  together  in  a  brilliant 
spectacle.  Cleveland  Sokols  exhibit  a  proud  collection  of  trophies  from  gen¬ 
eral  conventions  of  the  American  organization. 

Throughout  the  United  States,  the  Sokols  rushed  to  arms  at  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  war,  and  quickly  demonstrated  in  military  life,  the  value  of  the 
Sokol  training.  In  Cleveland,  four  who  could  not  wait  for  the  United  States, 
enlisted  in  the  Canadian  army;  74  served  in  the  United  States  army;  and  24, 
classed  as  “enemy  aliens”  fought  in  the  Czecho-Slovak  army  in  France. 


Fraternal  Organizations. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  fraternal  societies.  These  are  a  striking 
feature  of  all  Slav  life  in  America,  and  the  system  originated  with  the  Czechs, 
who  were  the  first  of  the  Slav  immigrants.  In  1854  the  Czecho-Slavonic 
Benevolent  Society  was  founded  in  St.  Louis.  The  Czech  name  is  Cesko- 
Slovansky  Podporujici  Spolek,  which  is  usually  shortened  to  the  initials 
“C.  S.  P.  S.”  and  pronounced  “Chesspass.”  The  motto  of  the  organization 
is  “Harmony,  Equality,  Brotherhood,”  and  the  practical  expression  of  this 
motto  is  through  its  organization  as  a  mutual  benefit  association.  Most  of 


30 


THE  CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


Sokol  Cleveland  Hall. 


the  early  members  served  in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil  War,  and  many 
benefits  were  paid  to  the  dependents  of  men  who  died  upon  the  battlefield. 

The  first  Cleveland  branch  was  “Svornost”  (Harmony,)  founded  in  1870 
as  the  third  branch  of  the  national  organization.  There  are  now  23  C.  S.  P.  S. 
lodges  in  Cleveland,  all  of  them  bearing  interesting  and  distinctive  names, 
most  of  which  refer  in  some  way  to  the  national  history.  Zizka,  the  great 
military  genius  of  Bohemia,  whose  army  of  peasants  and  mechanics,  with 
iron  flails  and  wooden  clubs,  defeated  the  mail-clad  knights  of  Europe,  is 
memoralized  by  three  lodges,  named  respectively,  Zizka,  “Zizkuv  Tabor” 
(the  Camp  of  Zizka)  and  “Zizkuv  Mec”  (the  Sword  of  Zizka)  Peter  Chelcicky, 
the  Czech  Tolstoi,  Machar  the  Poet,  and  Jan  Kollar,  poet  and  patriot,  are 
others  whose  named  are  borne  by  Cleveland  lodges. 

The  location  of  the  Supreme  Lodge  is  determined  by  each  quadrennial 
convention.  The  last  one  sent  it  to  Cleveland,  where  offices  are  occupied  in 
the  Bohemian  National  Hall.  The  supreme  president  is  Karel  Bemreiter, 
8719  Quincy  avenue,  secretary,  J.  V.  Lunak,  and  treasurer,  C.  O.  Dolezal. 

The  total  membership  is  23,262,  and  “Organ  Bratrstva”  is  the  official 
bulletin. 

Under  the  Supreme  lodge  are  eleven  Grand  Lodges,  Cleveland  being 
the  seat  of  the  Ohio  Grand  Lodge,  whose  president  is  James  Honcik,  of  East 
116th  street,  secretary,  Alfred  Huml,  3410  East  52nd  street.  Included  in 
this  Grand  Lodge  are  31  individuals  lodges,  having  3472  members. 

Another  large  organization  of  national  scope  is  the  “Bratrska  Jednota” 
(Fraternal  Union),  which  was  founded  in  Cleveland  in  1885,  and  a  third  is 
“Jednota  Taboritu,”  which  includes  both  men  and  women  in  separate  lodges. 


31 


THE  CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


Similar  women’s  societies  are  the  “Sesterska  Podporujici  Jednota” 
(Benevolent  Sisterhood  Union),  and  the  “Jednota  Ceskych  Dam’’  (Union  of 
Czech  women)  which  was  organized  in  Cleveland  in  1870.  These  are  usually 
spokenof  by  their  initials.  “J.  C.  D.”  has  in  the  United  States  144  branches, 
and  about  23,000  members;  of  these  21  branches,  with  a  membership  of  be¬ 
tween  2,000  and  3,000  are  in  Cleveland.  Mrs.  K.  Huspaska,  4236  East  128th 
street,  is  president  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  Mrs.  Anna 
Baloun,  4315  Trowbridge  avenue,  secretary.  Mrs.  Caroline  Rychlik,  who 
was  one  of  the  organizers  and  has  always  been  a  very  active  member  is 
affectionately  called  “the  mother  of  the  Bohemian  lodges.”  “S.  P.  J.”  has 
72  branches  with  over  15,000  members,  22  branches  and  more  than  one-fifth 
of  the  micmbers  being  in  Cleveland. 

Other  women’s  societies  are  the  “Jednota  Cesky  Vlastenek”  (United 
Bohemian  Women  Patriots)  and  the  local  society  “Vlasta,”  which  was  the 
first  of  the  ladies’  lodges  and  celebrates  its  fiftieth  anniversary  on  Feb.  1st, 
1920. 

Catholic  organizations  are  the  “First  Czech  Roman  Catholic  Union”, 
of  which  the  Supreme  President  is  Vincent  Kolda,  4352  Martin  avenue,  and 
the  secretary  is  F.  J.  Adam,  1436  West  18th  street,  Chicago.  The  sister  so¬ 
ciety  of  Czech  Roman  Catholic  Ladies  has  among  its  officers  two  Cleveland 
women ;  Mrs.  Karolina  Tuhacek  and  Mrs.  Marie  Kapl. 

The  “Czech  Roman  Catholic  Benefit  Society  of  St.  John  Nepomucene” 
is  a  state  organization,  having  Frankisek  Vodrazka  ,2477  East  89th  street  as 
president,  and  Frantisek  Jarousek,  3423  East  54th  street,  as  secretary. 

A  local  organization  is  the  Union  of  Czech  Roman  Catholic  women  of 
Cleveland,  of  which  the  president  is  A4rs.  A.  Hlavin,  13022  Miles  avenue,  and 
the  secretary  is  Mrs.  Marie  Ineman,  5652  Hamlet  avenue. 

Other  Lodges. 

A  fraternal  organization  of  a  more  familiar  type  is  Palacky  Lodge,  No. 
317  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  which  was  organized  in  1889,  and  now  with 
750  members  is  the  largest  K.  P.  lodge  in  Ohio.  Its  name  is  in  honor  of  the 
great  historian,  who  is  fondly  called  “Father  Palacky.”  Lodge  Prokop  the 
Great,  No.  708  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  is  named  for  that  Prokop 
upon  whom  fell  Zizka’s  mantle  in  Bohemia’s  17th  century  struggle  for  liberty. 

Business  Associations. 

The  Mt.  Pleasant  Improvement  Club,  Frank  Mares,  president,  is  de¬ 
voted  to  the  development,  improvement,  and  commercial  interests  of  that 
district.  Similarly  the  Buckeye  Road  Improvement  Club  seeks  the  interests 
of  its  neighborhood.  Its  president  is  Joseph  Skalnick,  11414  Parkview  avenue. 

Outdoor  Clubs. 

Sport  clubs  are  a  natural  development  of  the  Czech  fondness  for  outdoor 
life  and  recreation.  The  Czech  Sport  Club  has  as  its  president  James  Kadlec, 
4927  Broadway.  The  Karlina  Hunting  Club  bears  the  name  by  which  the 
Fleet  avenue  Bohemian  settlement  is  known  among  the  Czechs.  The  Ohio 
Fishing  Club  meets  in  the  National  Hall  on  Broadway,  where  it  plans  out¬ 
ings  and  swaps  fish  stories.  The  Rabbit  Breeders’  Club  attempts  to  reduce 
the  high  cost  of  meat  by  furnishing  a  home  grown  variety. 


32 


THE  CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


"Social  Clubs. 


“Damska  Beseda,”  which  means  “Ladies’  Party,”  is  the  name  “of  groups 
‘that  meet  socially  at  the  homes  of  their  members  in  five  different’^parts  of 
the  city;  while  the  “Ceska  Narodna  Beseda”  is  a  social  club  of  men,  owning 
a  club  house  at  5334  Broadway. 

The  Bohemian  Old  Settlers’  association  is  another  social  organization 
which  affords  great  pleasure  to  its  members.  Kamil  Wiesenberger  is  presi¬ 
dent,  and  this  organization  with  the  co-operation  of  many  others,  is  interested 
actively  in  the  effort  to  establish  a  “Bohemian  Old  People’s  Home.”  This 
effort  was  in  obeyance  during  the  war,  but  is  now  being  actively  resumed. 


Education. 

In  the  matter  of  education,  the  Czech  utilizes  every  opportunity  for  him¬ 
self  and  tries  to  gain  for  his  children  more  than  he  has  had.  Girls  are  con¬ 
sidered  quite  as  fit  as  boys  for  education,  and  the  roster  of  the  various  high 
schools,  particularly  South,  Lincoln,  East  Technical,  and  the  High  School  of 
Commerce  vShow  very  large  proportion  of  Czech  names.  Many  of  the  girls 
go  to  Normal  school,  and  become  teachers,  the  class  of  1919  containing  a  large 
number  of  Czech  names.  A  good  proportion  also  go  to  college,  and  many 
young  men  take  up  the  professions  of  law,  medicine,  and  dentistry. 

Dr.  Joseph  Sykora,  who  was  graduated  from  the  Cleveland  Medical 
College  and  began  practice  in  1875,  was  the  first  Bohemian  doctor.  For 
many  years  he  drove  a  yellow  horse,  which  became  familiar  to  all  Czech 
Cleveland,  and  it  was  a  common  saying  that  as  soon  as  the  yellow  horse  ap¬ 
peared  upon  the  street,  the  patient  began  to  recover. 

Joseph  Jicha,  a  Cleveland  young  man  of  Czech  parentage  won  the  first 
prize  at  the  Cleveland  School  of  Art  in  1919,  and  the  second  honors  went  to 
a  Bohemian  girl,  Helen  Srp,  of  Bedford. 

During  the  last  two  winters,  the  Bohemian-Russian  club  consisting  of 
about  50  persons,  has  met  twice  a  week  with  a  Russian  teacher  to  study  the 
Russian  language.  Their  object  is  three  fold;  first  cultural;  second,  to  pre¬ 
pare  themselves  to  further  trade  relations  with  Russia;  and  third,  to  assist  in 
the  development  of  fellowship  throughout  the  Slav  race. 


The  Broadway  Library. 

The  love  of  books  is  a  natural  accompaniment  of  intelligence  and  edu¬ 
cation,  therefore  it  is  not  surprising  that  as  early' as  1895,  the  Czechs  of  Cleve¬ 
land  requested  the  addition  of  Bohemian  books  to  the  public  library.  This 
request  was  granted  soon  after,  and  ever  since  Czech  literature  has  been 
given  place  and  consideration.  When  the  present  system  of  branch  libraries 
was  in  its  infancy,  the  Czechs  of  the  Broadway  district  presented  a  petition, 
which  resulted  in  the  erection  in  1906  of  the  Broadway  Branch  Library  at 
Broadway  and  East  55th  streets.  The  overwhelming  nature  of  the  first  de¬ 
mands  upon  it  are  a  permanent  tradition  in  the  library  organization.  Not  a 
book  was  left  in  the  childrens’  room  at  the  end  of  the  first  day,  and  Bohemian 
books  had  to  be  purchased  as  emergency  orders  wherever  they  could  be 
found,  in  order  to  satisfy  what  seemed  to  be  an  insatiable  demand.  After 
the  first  rush  was  over,  a  collection  of  4,000  volumes  was  found  to  be  ade¬ 
quate  to  the  needs  in  the  Bohemian  language,  the  books  being  read  most  by 
the  old  people  and  the  newcomers.  The  Broadway  library  has  11,000  active 
borrowers,  of  whom  about  sixty-five  per  cent  are  either  Czech  or  of  Czech 


33 


rm  E  CZECHS  of  Cleveland 


The  Children’s  Room  in  the  Broadway  Library 


parentage,  and  itvS  total  circulation  has  gone  up  to  196,000  volumes  in  a  year, 
with  a  daily  reading  room  attendance,  during  the  winter  months,  of  over  one 
thousand. 

Other  libraries  in  Czech  centers  are  the  Quincy  Branch  at  Quincy  avenue 
and  East  79th  street,  and  the  Clark  avenue  Branch  at  4620  Clark  avenue,  the 
Milford  School  Branch  and  the  Rice  School  Branch.  Many  other  library 
agencies  circulate  some  Bohemian  books,  the  total  for  the  library  system 
having  been  44,423  in  1914.  Since  that  time,  owing  to  the  lack  of  new 
titles  and  replacements  on  account  of  the  war,  there  has  been  a  slight  drop  in 
the  Bohemian  circulation,  but  every  day  now  people  ask  if  any  new  books  have 
yet  been  received. 

Americanization. 

The  Czech  who  comes  to  America  comes  with  the  determination  to  adjust 
himself  to  American  conditions  just  as  soon  as  possible  and  he  knows  what  to 
expect  better  than  the  immigrants  of  races  newer  to  this  country.  In  Cleve¬ 
land  he  seeks  out  the  classes  for  beginners  in  English  and  soon,  if  he  has  any 
kind  of  a  teacher,  masters  enough  of  the  language  for  practical  purposes  at 
least.  He  brought  his  family  with  him  when  he  came,  burning  all  bridges  be¬ 
hind  him,  and  he  buys  a  home  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  and  identifies 
himself  also  as  an  American  citizen  .  vSome  of  the  first  names  in  the  first  record 
book  of  the  Naturalization  Office  of  the  Federal  Court  are  Czech  names,  those 
of  the  pioneers  of  the  early  50’s,  who  set  the  example  since  followed  almost  uni¬ 
versally. 


34 


THE  CZECHS 


OF  CLEVELAND 


Politics. 

The  Czechs  are  however  not  politicians,  and  do  not  seek  place  nor  politi¬ 
cal  preferment.  They  are  independent  voters;  a  majority  are  probably  demo¬ 
crats,  but  they  split  the  ticket  or  vote  independently  whenever  the  character  of 
the  issues  or  the  personality  of  the  candidate  makes  an  appeal  to  them.  Thus 
the  13th  ward,  typically  Czech,  in  1917  went  democratic  for  councilman  and 
president,  and  republican  for  mayor.  This  is  quite  typical,  the  newspapers 
also  being  independent  in  politics.  Cleveland  Czechs  holding  public  offices  at 
present  are  the  Hon.  John  J.  Babka,  Member  of  Congress,  A.  F.  Sprosty,  Di¬ 
rector  of  Public  Safety,  and  Councilmen  Kadlecek  of  the  13th  ward,  Zmunt  of 
the  7th,  and  Soika  of  the  16th.  A.  W.  Chaloupka  is  assistant  county  prose¬ 
cutor,  and  Rev.  John  Pnicha  has  rendered  in  the  City  Immigration  Bureau 
services  of  the  greatest  value. 

There  has  always  been  an  element  of  socialism  among  the  Czechs,  but  it  is 
socialism  of  the  constructive  type  which  is  organizing  the  Czecho-Slovak  Re¬ 
public.  There  are  nine  branches  of  the  Bohemian  Socialist  party  in  Cleveland 
at  present.  Several  of  these  are  quite  as  much  social  as  political  in  their  activi¬ 
ties,  having  musical  and  dramatic  branches.  The  Czech  socialists  of  Cleveland 
are  to  a  large  extent  immigrants  of  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years,  the  older 
residents  tending  toward  conservatism. 

Occupations. 

In  occupation  the  Bohemian  of  Cleveland  is  in  general  the  skilled  work¬ 
man.  There  are  many  tailors,  although  not  so  large  a  proportion  as  formerly, 
many  of  the  women  also  working  in  the  garment  trades.  There  are  many 
skilled  workers  in  shops  and  trades  of  every  kind.  Two  unions  of  carpenters 
and  one  of  bakers,  and  an  “Educational  Club  of  Czech  Foundrymen”  compose 
the  list  of  labor  unions  which  are  distinguished  as  Czech,  but  of  course  the 
large  number  belong  to  unions  in  which  there  is  no  distinction  of  nationality. 

The  streets  of  Czech  neighborhoods  are  lined  with  good  stores  where 
every  class  of  merchandise  is  handled.  Bakeries  are  numerous,  since  Czech 
baked  goods  are  distinctive  and  too  good  to  be  given  up.  Music  stores  are  also 
conspicuous,  as  no  people  in  the  city  buy  more  musical  instruments  than  the 
Czechs. 

Manufacturing. 

Small  manufacturing  concerns,  employing  from  ten  to  twenty  men,  are 
characteristic  of  the  Czechs  in  Cleveland,  the  only  large  concern  being  the 
Vlchek  Tool  Company  at  10709  Quincy  avenue,  now  moving  to  a  new  plant  at 
8701  Mt.  Auburn  avenue. 

This  concern  is  an  exhibition  of  Czech  industry,  business  sagacity,  and 
ability.  Mr.Frank  J. Vlchek, the  owner, came  to  this  country  an  immigrant  lad 
of  eighteen,  equipped  only  with  his  trade, that  of  blacksmith,  to  which  he  had 
added  training  in  surgical  instrument  making.  In  1893  he  had  a  blacksmith 
shop  on  Central  avenue,  small  enough  to  be  moved  on  a  wagon  when  removal 
became  expedient.  From  that  humble  beginning  he  has  developed  the  largest 
business  in  the  country  in  tools;  eighty-five  per  cent  of  the  automobiles  of  the 
United  States  are  equipped  with  Vlchek  tool-kits.  Four  hundred  men  are  em¬ 
ployed, with  improvements  planned  which  will  enroll  a  force  of  600  within  an¬ 
other  year.  The  new  plant,  into  which  the  shops  will  be  entirely  removed  by  the 
end  of  1919,  represents  an  investment  of  8500,000,  with  a  second  part  of  equal 


35 


THE 


CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


size  to  follow  immediately.  Czecho-Slovaks  find  pleasure  in  working  for  their 
countryman,  and  about  three-fourths  of  the  present  force  are  of  that  race.  Mr. 
Vlchek  is  ambitious  to  see  all  his  employees  advance,  and,  regarding  mastery  of 
the  English  language  as  essential  to  this,  he  has  classes  in  English  in  the  factory 
and  throws  ^11  his  personal  influence  in  favor  of  education  and  progress.  The 
famous  “Message  to  Garcia”  was  translated  into  Bohemian  at  Mr.Vlchek’s  ex¬ 
pense,  and  by  him  distributed  to  his  men. 

The  Fprest  City  Brewery  is  a  Czech  concern,  the  Bohemians  being  famous 
as  brewers.  The  American  saloon  is  a  feature  of  the  Americanization  of  the 
Czechs  which  has  been  greatly  to  their  disadvantage.  In  the  old  country  the 
“hospoda”  was  a  social  place  where  a  man  went  in  the  evening,  often  with  his 
family,  sat  at  a  table  with  a  table  cloth,  his  friends  at  the  next  table,  drank  a 
glass  or  two  of  beer,  listened  to  the  music,  looked  at  the  new  journals,  and  went 
home  rested  and  refreshed.  In  America,  where  drinks  are  taken  standing  and 
without  the  social  adjuncts,  the  tendency  becomes  of  course  to  drink  too 
much  and  to  use  stronger  drinks.  The  saloonkeeper  who  knows  the  old  coun¬ 
try  customs,  adopts  the  American  first  because  it  is  the  style  in  this  country, 
and  then  because  he  finds  that  he  can  make  more  money.  While  there  is  much 
regret  for  the  good  Bohemian  beer,  there  is  no  good  Czech  who  regrets  the  de¬ 
parture  of  the  American  saloon. 

Cleveland  Czechs  and  the  War. 

To  give  any  adequate  account  of  the  part  of  Cleveland  Czechs  in  the  great 
war  would  require  a  volume  in  itself.  The  break  up  of  the  Austro-Hungarian 
monarchy  was  achieved  by  the  Czechs  within  the  kingdom,  and  they  had  cour¬ 
age  to  stake  all  on  the  throw  because  they  were  supported  by  the  Czechs  in 
America,  of  whom  the  Cleveland  Czechs  are  an  important  part.  The  Czecho¬ 
slovak  army  in  Russia  was  financed  by  American  Czechs,  Cleveland  alone  hav¬ 
ing  contributed  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars  to  the  cause.  Ven  Svarc  and  Jo¬ 
seph  Martin ek  of  this  city  spent  the  year  1917  in  Russia,  and  Mr.  Martinek  is 
now  in  Siberia,  where  his  mission  is  to  carry  news  and  comfort  to  the  Czecho¬ 
slovak  army,  who,  without  opportunity  of  returning  home  after  a  year  of  peace 
are  in  danger  of  feeling  themselves  deserted  and  abandoned  by  the  Allies  to 
whom  they  brought  success. 

Three  hundred  and  fifty  men  went  from  Cleveland  to  join  the. Czecho¬ 
slovak  army  in  France.  The  following  is  an  incomplete  list  of  the  Cleveland 
Czechs  who,  in  the  Czecho-Slovak  and  in  the  United  States  armies,  received 
decorations  for  valor: 

Joseph  Andel . 3459  East  114th  St . Czecho-Slovak  decoration. 

Frank  Cihan .  13006  Kinsman  Ave . Croix  d’guerre 

August  Habart . Czecho-Slovak  decoration. 

Prokop  Hlavaty . U.  S.  distinguished  service 

medal. 

Anton  Hobl . Czecho-Slovak  decoration. 

John  Horak . 3725  East  50th  St . Czecho-Slovak  decoration. 

Joseph  Hrbek . 5011  Hamm  Ave . Czecho-Slovak  decoration. 

Louis  Kalus .  13003  Union  Ave . Czecho-Slovak  decoration. 

James  Kerka . 3251  West  38th  St . Czecho-Slovak  decoration. 

Lada  Kiml . 5404  Magnet  Ave . Czecho-Slovak  decoration. 

and 

Croix  d’guerre 


36 


THE  CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


Frank  Opatmy . 7512  Union  Ave . Czecho-Slovak  decoration. 

Emanuel  Pekarek . 3164  West  50th  St . Czecho-Slovak  decoration. 

Frank  Prokop . 3061  West  56th  St . Czecho-Slovak  decoration. 

James  Sebek . 3323  West  59th  St . Czecho-Slovak  decoration. 

James  Sedlacek . 3261  East  49th  St . Czecho-Slovak  decoration 

and 

Croix  d’guerre , 

Anton  L.  Shebanek .  .  .7217  Ivy  Ave  . . Croix  d’guerre 

Joseph  Svrk . Reno  Ave . . Croix  d’guerre 

and 

Czecho-Slovak  decoration. 

John  Tym.a . 5114  Hamm  Ave . Czecho-Slovak  decoration. 

Joseph  Urban .  13003  Union  Ave . Czecho-Slovak  decoration. 

Anton  Verkner . U.  S.  distinguished  service 

medal 

Anton  Vojncek . 3338  West  145th  St . Czecho-Slovak  decoration. 


Nearly  half  of  those  who  went  from  Cleveland  into  the  Czecho-Slovak 
army  are  now  in  Prague,  and  may  perhaps  remain  there.  Those  who  have 
returned  are  very  anxious  to  have  restored  their  previous  status  as  applicants 
for  citizenship,  and  a  petition  to  this  effect  has  been  sent  to  Congress.  In 
this  petition  they  speak  of  American  citizenship  that  “which  every  man 
holds  dearest”  and  beg  its  restoration. 

The  various  political  activities  of  the  Czechs  in  this  country  were  co¬ 
ordinated  for  war  purposes  through  the  Bohemian  National  Alliance,  whose 
headquarters  are  at  3734  West  26th  street,  Chicago,  and  the  National  Alliance 
of  Bohemian  Catholics,  3207  West  22nd  street,  Chicago. 

Karel  Bemreiter,  Joseph  Martinek,  and  Rev.  Oldrich  Zlamal,  of  Cleve¬ 
land,  are  members  of  the  Council  of  the  American  Czecho-Slovak  Board, 
which  is  the  executive  body  of  Czech  and  Slovak  organizations  in  America. 


The  Czecho-slovak  Review,  a  monthly  periodical  under  the  editorship 
of  J.  F.  Sm^etanka,  is  published  in  English  for  the  purpose  of  acquainting 
Americans  with  the  Czecho-Slovak  situation  in  general.  It  is  an  able  publi¬ 
cation,  well  illustrated,  containing  in  each  number  a  great  amount  of  infor¬ 
mation  not  hitherto  available  in  English.  It  is  temperate  in  tone  and  broad 
in  its  outlook,  and  should  have  the  widest  reading  among  all  persons  wishing 
correct  information  on  the  affairs  of  Central  Europe. 

A  book  on  “The  Czechs  in  America,”  by  Thomas  Capek,  announced  for 
October  publication,  will  also  furnish  interesting  and  valuable  information. 
Mr.  Capek  is  a  scholar,  a  bibliographer,  and  a  man  of  affairs  and  is  the  only 
person  who  has  yet  written  extensively  in  English,  with  an  inside  knowedge 
of  Czecho-Slovak  affairs. 


37 


Antonin  Dvorak  Dramatic  Society. 


THE  CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


Authorities  Consulted 

“Ceska  Osada,  a  'jeji  Spolkovy  Zivot  v  Cleveland,  Ohio.” 

An  illustrated  history  of  Bohemians  in  Cleveland,  prepared  for  the 
Prague  Ethnological  Exposition  of  1895,  and  published  by  the  Volnost  press 
in  Cleveland.  192  pp. 

“Kratke  Dejiny  a  seznam  Cesko-Katolickych  osad  ve  Spoj.  Statech  Ameri- 
ickych.” 

A  register  and  brief  history  of  Bohemian  Catholic  colonies  in  the  U.  S. 
in  honor  of  the  25th  jubilee  of  Very  Rev.  Joseph  Hessoun,  by  Rev.  P.  A.  P. 
Houst.  St.  Louis,  1890,  552  pp. 

“Dejiny  Cechuv  Americkych,”  by  Jan  Habenicht. 

A  condensed  history  of  American  Bohemian  life,  pub.  by  the  ”Hlas” 
press  in  St.  Louis,  about  1894. 

“Padesat  let  Ceskeho  Tisku  v  Americe,”  by  Thomas  Capek. 

Fifty  years  of  the  Bohemian  press  in  America;  a  bibliography,  with 
historical  notes,  of  Bohemian  periodical  publications  in  the  United  States 
from  1860  to  1911;  pub.  in  New  York,  1911.  269  pp. 

These  four  are  in  Bohemian. 

“Czechoslovak  Review”;  a  monthly  periodical  published  at  2324  South 
Central  Park  Avenue,  Chicago,  beginning  in  1917. 

“Bohemian  (Cech)  Bibliography;  a  finding  list  of  writings  in  English  relating 
to  Bohemia  and  the  Cechs,”  by  Thomas  Capek  and  Anna  Vostrovsky  Capek. 

A  valuable  illustrated  and  annotated  bibliography,  published  by  Fleming 
H.  Revell  Co.  in  New  York  in  1918.  256  pp. 


39 


THE 


CZECHS  OF  CLEVELAND 


Cleveland  Americanization  Committee 


EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE 


Mr  Raymond  Moley — Chairman 
Mrs.  J.  N.  Fleming — Vice  Chairman 
Miss  Helen  Bacon— Secretary 
Mrs.  A.  L.  Bishop 
Mr.  Harold  T.  Clark 


Mrs.  E.  H.  Fishman 
Miss  Alice  P.  Gannett 
Mr.  Ernest  Joseph 
Judge  Manuel  Levine 
Mr.  Carl  P.  P.  Vitz 

Mrs.  C.  W.  Webb 

• 


GENERAL  COMMITTEE 


Mr.  J.  J.  Babka 
Mrs.  Willard  Beahan 
Mrs.  W.  C.  Boyle 
Mrs.  James  M.  Bryer 
Mr.  Edward  Bushnell 
Mrs.  W.  P.  Chamberlain 
Miss  Hazel  Foster 
Mr.  Hugh  M.  Fullerton 
Miss  Helen  Hanchette 
Mrs.  E.  L.  Harris 
Mr.  George  B.  Harris 
Mrs.  E.  B.  Haserodt 
Mrs.  Ray  A.  Hauserman 
Mr.  David  E.  Green 
Mr.  R.  J.  Hoddinott 
Mrs.  Helen  Horvath 
Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Hyre 
Rev.  Joel  B.  Hayden 
Mrs.  Durward.  B.  Igou 
Mrs.  Stella  Jacoby 
Rev.  William  A.  Kane 
Miss  K.  Kennedy 


Miss  Hedwig  Kosbab 
Mrs.  E.  C.  Kraus 
Mrs.  E.  E.  Ledbetter 
Mrs.  E.  C.  McCullough 
Mrs.  J.  L.  Mihelich 
Miss  Margaret  Mitchell 
Mr.  De  Lo  Mook 
Miss  Sarah  J.  Neuhart 
Mrs.  P.  C.  O’Brien 
Mrs,  Chas.  Orr 
Miss  Mary  E.  Parker 
Mrs.  Roger  G.  Perkins 
Mr.  John  Prucha 
Miss  Mary  Robertson 
Judge  Joseph  F.  Sawicki 
Mrs.  E.  M.  Spreng 
Miss  B.  Swainhardt 
Mrs.  Howard  S.  Thayer 
Mrs.  E.  J.  Weigel 
Mr.  F.  Allen  Whiting 
Miss  E.  Lohise  Willmott 
Mr.  E.  R.  Wright 


Other  Publications  of  the  Committee 

Americanization  of  Cleveland. 

The  Slovaks  of  Cleveland. 

Lessons  on  American  Citizenship. 

The  Jugoslavs  of  Cleveland. 

The  Magyars  of  Cleveland. 

The  Italians  of  Cleveland. 

The  Poles  of  Cleveland. 


40 


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